The Serena Chronicles
by buffygirl52789
Summary: Companion piece to Bound By Fate. Excerpts from the life of Buffy and Angel's daughter, Serena Lynn O'Leary.
1. April 29th, 2015

Disclaimer: Serena, Tracey, and the original plot belong to me. This fic is the companion piece to Bound By Fate. I suggest reading that if you want to better understand this. This will follow the life of Buffy and Angel's daughter Serena. Each chapter will be a stand alone story of sorts from a different point in her life, some from her POV, some not. These chapters will not go in chronological order. Some of these little stories will be angsty, some will (hopefully) be funny. I hope you enjoy.

Rating: PG 13

Author's Note: Here it is! I have been thinking for weeks on what the first little chapter should be, and this came to me the other night. I just wrote this all in one shot, and I am very pleased with it. This story is an excerpt from Serena's diary, so therefore it is in her point of view. This particular story contains major angst. Reviews would be very appreciated, please let me know what you think. Make sure you also read the above Disclaimer for more info on the future of this fic.

April 29th, 2015

An Excerpt from the diaries of Serena Lynn O'Leary

Dear Diary,

My parents and I just had a really long talk. Mommy said that I "deserved to know the truth" about everything. I was a little surprised because she hasn't really talked to me since Liam went away. But last night I heard her arguing with Daddy. I thought they might start fighting a lot after what happened. But they barely talk anymore. Daddy spends a lot of time alone in his room. When I ask him what's wrong he just says "don't worry about it princess."

Last night I was bad. I stayed out in the hall and listened to their fight. Mommy kept saying the same thing she said to me, that I deserve to know. She said something about what really happened to Liam. That made me confused, because Grandma Joyce told me that Mommy fell really bad and Liam went to heaven. I know that Grandma Joyce doesn't lie to me. I wondered if Mommy and Daddy lied to her. I hope not. I know I would never lie to my Mommy.

In the fight Daddy kept saying that I was too young. I am not young! I will be ten years old in one month and 24 days. But then my Mommy made me smile because she said that I am very wise for my age. My Grandpa Giles tells me that too. He says I remind him of when my mommy was a teenager and he was her school librarian. I think Grandpa Giles would be a good librarian.

I wanted to listen more but I was very tired and I went to bed. But I heard them up very late. Today when I came home from school my Mommy and Daddy were waiting for me on the couch. Mommy said that she wanted to talk to me about grown-up stuff. I like grown-up stuff, like when my Aunt Tracey comes and we go get our nails painted really pretty. My Daddy was very quiet. I don't think that he wanted Mommy to tell me the grown-up stuff. But she did anyway.

"Serena, do you remember a few years ago when you heard your Mommy fighting outside?" she said carefully.

"Yes," I said. I had heard a noise outside and Mommy had gone to see what it was. I looked through the crack in the door and I saw her fighting, then there was dust everywhere.

"You know how I told you that when you were older I would explain what happened that night?" she continued.

"Am I old enough now?" I said hopefully. I know I'm getting older. Aunt Tracey is giving me more lip gloss for my birthday.

"I think so sweetie," my mom said. She took my hand. "Baby, that night Mommy was fighting because it's my job to fight the bad guys. That man was bad, and he wanted to hurt people."

"Did you kill him?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Yes, but only because he wasn't human," she said.

I frowned. I didn't really understand.

"What your Mommy is trying to say is that man was a vampire," my Daddy said.

I instantly thought of something. Two years ago I had been out shopping for a Halloween costume. There was a really scary vampire one with a little purple cape and fake teeth. I wanted it really bad but my Mommy got a funny look on her face and she made me pick out the Cinderella one instead. "I thought vampires are only in the movies."

"No, honey, sometimes they are real. But ever since I was very young I have been trained to fight them. So if you noticed some weird things happening? It was because I was doing my job," she said. She was smiling, but it was only with her mouth. Her eyes were still sad.

"So you're like a super hero Mommy!" I said, impressed.

She continued with the fake smile. "Not exactly, baby."

Something occurred to me. "Mommy why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I don't want to shelter you any longer. You're growing up so much. And I want you to be aware of what's out there."

I looked at my Daddy. "Daddy, did you think it was cool that Mommy fought the bad guys? Like when you guys met?"

They both got very stiff, and I started to worry if I said something wrong. "Princess, things were different between your Mommy and I then. We...we were very different," Daddy said. He seemed like he didn't know what to say.

"Didn't you want to help her fight the bad guys?" I asked, confused. I know that Daddy helps people now. He has a business in LA with Aunt Cordy and Uncle Wes.

"Honey," my mother started to say.

"Buffy, no," my Daddy said.

"What's wrong?" I said, frowning.

"Sweetie your Daddy did want to help me. But it was hard, because for a while...back then...he was a vampire," my Mommy rushed.

I thought about that for a minute. "But a good one, right?"

She smiled again, and this time, her eyes smiled a little too. "Yes."

"When I get bigger, am I going to fight the vampires too?" I asked.

"Only if you want to," my Daddy said quickly. "That's another thing we wanted to talk to you about. If you would like to, I can help you learn how to protect yourself. From the vampires. All your mother and I want is for you to be safe," he added.

"Mommy, did the vampires kill Liam?" I asked.

My mother suddenly got very quiet, and she looked like she might cry. My Daddy touched my shoulder. "No. What happened to your brother was a very bad mistake. Some vampires were there, but in the end it was just a terrible thing that happened."

I nodded. "But was it the vampires' fault?"

My Daddy suddenly stood up. "It's not important whose fault it was." I noticed that he wasn't looking at Mommy.

"I'm sorry if I made you mad," I had said.

"No, it's okay baby. It's just...we still miss Liam very much," my Mommy says, wiping her eyes.

"I miss him too," I said. "I wanted to be a big sister."

Suddenly my Mommy got up and ran out of the room. "Daddy what happened?" I said, very upset. I hated it when Mommy cried, and she had been doing it too much lately.

"Your Mommy's just very sad," he said quickly. "Are you okay? Do you understand what we told you?"

I nodded. "I want you to teach me Daddy. I want to be like Mommy."

He smiled at me. "You already are." He kissed me on the forehead and then he left.

When I came up here to my room the door to their room was shut. Mommy must be in there. But I saw Daddy go outside. So I know he's not making it better.

I think that Daddy didn't want to tell me about the vampires because he thought I would be scared. But I'm not. I watch scary movies and it doesn't scare me. I think it's cool that Mommy and Daddy fight the bad guys. But it doesn't make sense that they are so sad all the time. I think they told me because the vampires made Liam go to heaven and they don't want the same thing to happen to me. So maybe if I let Daddy teach me how to fight Mommy won't be so sad anymore.

After Liam went away Grandma Joyce told me that my parents would probably be quiet and sad for a while. But she said that the important thing to remember is that they love me very much, and they aren't sad because of me.

I think I am going to go to bed now. Having grown-up conversations is hard work.

_Serena Lynn O'Leary_


	2. August 1st, 2020

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the delay in continuing this story. I had some difficulty in getting this chapter started. It also ended up going in a different direction that I'd originally intended, I was going to start with the diary entry and then flash back and show that day's training session with Kenny, but that didn't work out. So for this chapter you have a short but sweet diary entry that was written only a few days after the birthday party in the last chapter of Bound By Fate, and next chapter will (probably) be a training session with Kenny. Enjoy!

Dedication: To the 5 wonderful people who submitted such wonderful reviews to chapter one: Amanda, Kitty, Melanie, Out-Of-Reality, and slayerchick33.

> > > > >

Tuesday, August 1, 2020

An Excerpt from the diaries of Serena Lynn O'Leary

Dear Diary,

I trained with Kenny again today. It seems like every time I talk to him we get to know each other more. I feel so comfortable with him. I've only known him for like 3 weeks but it feels like so much longer. I can just talk to him, about anything, and he just listens. He's so cute when he listens. His lips sort of come together and sometimes he runs a hand through his adorable blonde hair...I am totally falling for him. I've never really had feelings like this before. Of course I've had a crush on guys before, but not like this. This isn't like Sean in fifth grade, when I would spend the whole class just staring at the back of his head. This is real, I can feel it deep down. And when he smiles at me I get this feeling that I can't even describe. I am really falling for him. Last night I talked to Liz on the phone and I went on and on about Kenny. She said "Rena, I understand, and he is totally cute. But he's 21! That's-"

I interrupted her. "Six years older than me. Believe me, I've done the math."

I understand that he's older than me. Okay, okay, too old for me. But I turned 15, I'm practically an adult! Well I will be in a few years anyway. It's not like I'm going to like go to bed with him or something...as much as I think I'd like to. It would be kind of like the dream I had last night...except I don't think I should write it down. Anyways, I understand that I can't have a relationship with Kenny right away. But that doesn't mean I can't talk to him and have really R rated dreams about him...

I know that my parents can tell how much I like him. My dad gets this kind of angry protective look whenever he's around. But that's how dads are supposed to be, wanting to keep me a virgin until I'm 30. I think mom is a little more open about it. It almost seems like she thinks it's cute. Although it has to be a little weird for her, considering her Watcher was nowhere near as great as mine...in the looks department anyway. It gives me the willies to even think about Grandpa Giles like that! But Kenny is different. He's younger, and blonde. And he's not like all business, like mom said Grandpa Giles used to be when she was in high school. We train, and he teaches me a lot, but we also spend a lot of time just talking. And he's not forcing me to like have no life and just be the slayer. I think he understands how I feel, with the whole destiny changing my life thing. He got pulled into being a Watcher because his father was one. I don't think he really wanted this either. That just adds to what we have in common! Pulled from our somewhat normal lives at a young age, just to carry on the family legacy. It's really romantic.

I wonder if he thinks of me the same way. I know it has to be a little weird for him, considering him going out with me would be illegal. But I can't help but think that he does like me. He smiles at me different than he smiles at everyone else. And I've seen him looking at me when he thinks I'm not watching. But that makes me wonder, does he really think I'm like, cute? I must seem so incredibly young to someone like him. I mean he's probably had girlfriends before. After all he is 21. He's old enough to drink, and I can't even get my driver's licence yet.

The only person I've really talked to about all this is Liz. She totally agrees with me about Kenny being gorgeous, but I think she thinks I'm a little delusional. And maybe I am. I just know that I've never felt this way before. Liz keeps saying that I'm young, and I need someone my own age, someone that can take me to Homecoming, and to the junior prom next year. She says how she thinks this kid Billy in my advanced art class likes me. And I know she's right, and he is nice and all, we like a lot of the same things. But when I look at him, I see a friend. When I look at Kenny, I get this feeling in my stomach. It's a little scary, but I can actually picture myself spending my life with him.

I start school again in a month. I am a little sad because that means I'll be spending less time training with Kenny. But I am a little excited too. Liz and I are definitely going to Homecoming this year. We didn't go freshman year, but this year we're going to try it. And I'm taking two more art classes, and a journalism class. I really am my parents' child. I just hope that this whole slaying thing doesn't start messing up my life. Mom's told me the stories of all her high school adventures. But I think I'll be different. Unlike my mom I have parents that want to support me and help me. I don't have the added stress of keeping everything a secret. I'm still going to have to patrol and stuff, but my dad has told me that he would always fill in if I had like a big test or something. I won't be alone. I know that my mom and dad will bend over backwards if it means I can have a normal life.

Speaking of bending over backwards...yikes, I think my parents are going at it again. I hear noises coming from their room. Ever since that night about a month ago they have been so much better. I noticed that ever since the day that they told me about me being the slayer they have been so much happier. And there have been a lot more "noises" from their room at night...time for headphones.

Anyways, tomorrow I have training with Kenny again. And then Liz is coming over. On Thursday Aunt Tracey is sending her driver to pick us up. She's taking us back to school shopping in LA. That will be fun. Aunt Tracey has great taste, and they close the stores for her! I want to get some things that are a little different from my usual wardrobe. Maybe some things that are a little more sophisticated, so Kenny can see me as a little older. Hey, a girl can dream.

I'm gonna go now. I need my beauty sleep for training tomorrow.

Serena Bromley

Just kidding!

Serena Lynn O'Leary

> > > > >

A/N: Please review! Thanks so much for reading. I would appreciate suggestions, as well as anything you want to see, any particular moment from Serena's life. You all know from the BBF epilogue that she does marry Kenny, and don't worry, you will get to see every major moment in their relationship. Do you guys want to see more of little Serena too, like in chapter 1? More of other characters? I will consider any and all suggestions. Thanks so much!


	3. October 2nd, 2020

Disclaimer: Serena, Tracey, Kenny, Liz, Billy, and all others you don't recognize are owned by me. Everything else is property of Joss.

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating this story, had a bit of writer's block with this one, but finally found an idea I could work with. I think you guys will like this one, it was a ton of fun to write. The song is This I Promise You by NSync, I am so not a fan, just needed a good ballad and that one is so pretty. :-) As always, reviews are beyond appreciated. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! I will try to update this again soon, also have to continue working on Living the Dream, and I have some real life stuff going on right now that kind of sucks. But I will update as much as possible. :-)

Dedication: This one's for Kitty and Strawberry, you guys are the best, thanks for everything, and for always supporting this story.

> > > > >

Saturday, October 2nd, 2020

"No, stay there! My flash didn't go off!"

Serena and Liz made a big show of groaning as they resumed their poses on the front steps of the O'Leary home. Today was Sunnydale High's Homecoming. The two girls had gathered for pictures at Serena's house before heading to the dance. And their parents were loving every minute of it.

"Mom, I think a roll is enough. We should get going," Serena said, adjusting her strapless black dress as she tried to remember how she had let her aunt Tracey talk her into wearing anything strapless. But she did like how the dress flared out slightly mid thigh and had a hot pink underskirt that showed just enough. She maneuvered carefully down the steps in her hot pink kitten heels to where Angel, Buffy, and Liz's mom were assembled, looking like a mini paparazzi squad with their digital cameras in hand. Angel had a video camera trained on the two girls.

"I know sweetie. It's just your first big dance, and you look so beautiful," Buffy said, a nostalgic look in her eyes.

"Mom, don't start," Serena warned. "It's no big deal, it's just homecoming."

"Imagine how they'll be when it comes time for prom," Liz chirped. She wore a knee length red spaghetti strap dress and matching heels. A fake red flower was pinned behind one ear, adding a nice touch to her short dirty blonde hair.

"You girls are going to need to find yourselves some nice young men to take you to the prom. Girls as pretty as you should have no problem finding dates," Mrs. Chester insisted. Angel glared at her from behind the video camera. "I went to my prom with Robert Gale. Handsome guy, I wonder whatever happened to him."

"I went alone at first. But someone made a guest appearance to save the night," Buffy said, smiling at Angel.

Serena pushed a lock of hair behind her ear while her wrist corsage flapped slightly in the breeze. Her long almost black hair was piled primly on top of her head, with a few curled pieces hanging loose. "Mom, what happened to 'you don't need a date to have fun?'" she asked playfully.

"You know, that is very true," Angel jumped in. Buffy smacked him lightly in the arm.

"I know honey, we're just chatting. Now why don't you go get in the car! You don't want to be late. Have fun!" Buffy reached out and hugged her daughter. "I'll see you tonight."

Serena stepped back from the hug a moment later and picked up her hot pink clutch from it's resting spot on the big front porch. "We will. Ready Liz? Dad?"

Liz kissed her mom goodbye before coming to Serena's side. Angel turned off the video camera and walked over to the car. "Just hop in, and we'll be on our way."

The two girls waved to their moms as they hurried into the backseat of the car. Angel looked back in the rear view mirror to make sure they were settled with fastened seatbelts before pulling away. They waved to Buffy and Helene until they disappeared from view.

Liz looked at Serena in excitement. "This is kind of fun. The whole getting dressed up and making a big deal thing. More fun than I thought it would be."

Serena considered that. "It is kind of fun." She sounded a little less than enthusiastic.

"So, do you think anyone will ask us to dance? That kid Billy is totally eyeing you this year, even more than freshman year!" Liz continued.

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. He's in my advanced art class, nice and all, and pretty cute, but...I don't know."

Liz suddenly understood Serena's less-than-perky attitude. "Oh! I get it. I guess Billy just doesn't compare to a certain ruggedly handsome, older British wa-"

Serena kicked her sharply in the shin, cocking her head towards the driver's seat. She had learned by now that even if her dad pretended he wasn't listening, he was. Especially if the conversation had anything to do with boys. Liz rubbed her shin, mouthing 'sorry' to her friend. She leaned over and whispered. "But am I right? Because I know I am."

Serena gave her a look, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Maybe. I know it's a little silly, but it's true."

Liz nodded, grinning. "Well you never know, maybe he'll waltz into the dance and sweep you off your feet like your dad did to your mom at the prom."

"Um, excuse me, did I hear something about feet sweeping? Because there will be no feet sweeping! You're fifteen years old," Angel chimed in from the driver's seat. "And don't forget about how I broke up with your mother in the sewers right before prom."

"But you still came so she could have her one perfect high school moment," Serena said with a smile. Her mother had told the bittersweet but satisfying story of her senior prom many times, and Serena knew that Angel just wanted to discourage her from having a relationship with his talk of breakups in sewers. She paused to consider what Liz had said and lowered her voice. "But sadly, I highly doubt there will be any feet sweeping tonight."

> > > > >

_"They have everything for you men to enjoy, you can hang out with all the boys... It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A..."_

An hour into the dance, Serena and Liz sat on the bleachers, nibbling on finger sandwiches. They watched as their classmates engaged in goofily spelling out the name of the classic song with their arms.

"At least the deejay's not half bad," Liz commented.

Serena shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." She glanced over to the front of the gym, where Mary-Beth and Stacey were dancing and giggling with some girls she didn't know very well. It was so weird to think that just four months ago the four of them had been hanging out at Liz's. Ever since Serena had become the slayer, and she had told Liz everything, they had drifted apart from the other two girls. Mary-Beth and Stacey had noticed that they seemed to have a secret, and that on top of the fact that Serena and Liz had always been closer friends had driven them apart. They had hung out less and less as the summer had progressed and since sophomore year had started a month ago, they had barely even spoken. _But now they look like they're having the time of their lives, while Liz and I sit here eating finger sandwiches that I suspect contain actual fingers,_ Serena thought glumly. She turned to Liz. "What were we thinking? Homecoming is for popular people."

"Not necessarily...but it certainly is more fun when you are. Or so it looks," Liz commented, gesturing over at the newly crowned Homecoming Queen working the senior crowd.

"You know, my mom ran for queen her senior year. Against my aunt Cordy! Supposedly they got really into it. But then they both lost," Serena said.

Liz laughed. "I never really saw your mom as the popular type."

"I don't think she was. She mostly hung out in the library with Grandpa Giles. But her first year and a half of high school, in LA? She was like queen of the school. I've seen the yearbook, she did everything," Serena added. "Unlike me."

"That's not true. You do stuff! You have art club, the school paper, Spanish club...you do more than me!" Liz insisted.

"My aunt Tracey keeps telling me I should try drama club, be in the play or musical or whatever. But I don't know if that's me. I think I'm more of a behind the scenes type," Serena said with a thoughtful frown.

"But hey, I'll bet no one else has the extra curricular activity of vampire slaying," Liz said with a wry smile. Before Serena could respond, Liz sat up straight, her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God, Rena, I think your night may have just been saved."

Serena followed her gaze to the gym doors, where she saw Billy Steinman from her art class entering awkwardly. She had to admit he did look kinda hot in his dress pants and shirt, with his slightly long dark hair shaggy as usual. "Liz, I thought we had this conversation."

"Rena, come on! Look at him! And he's totally into you. I know you would prefer to sit around your whole life and wait for Kenny, but as your best friend I can't allow it. You're young, and you're at a school dance, and if a cute boy that's interested in you is there, you should go with it," Liz insisted.

Serena considered that. "You do have a little bit of a point...I mean, it could be years before Kenny ever notices me as more than his slayer..."

"Exactly! _Years_. You don't need to wait that long!" Liz said triumphantly, feeling like she was finally getting through. "So why don't you go ask him to dance?"

Serena's eyes widened. "Me? Ask him?" she squeaked. "No way. If he asks me, I'll...I'll consider it."

Liz sighed. "Fine. And I'm only saying that because it's just a matter of time before he does ask you." They sat in silence for a moment. "So how's your mom's new book coming?"

Serena smiled. "Good. I think she finished. She sent it to her editor. My dad and I are so happy she started writing again. These past few months she has been happier than she ever was since before Liam. I don't know what exactly happened, but somehow she worked everything out. She's a little worried that this book won't be as popular because the first one came out like sixteen years ago but we just tell her it doesn't matter, what matters is that she wrote it and enjoyed doing it."

"Well I can't wait to read it. I love _Forbidden Love_. Especially now that I know that the whole thing was true, it wasn't some 'supernatural interpretation' of her life," Liz said, using air quotes.

"Yeah, my mom has a real gift for writing. The other day I was looking at the scrapbook her friends at the _Manhattan Tribune_ gave her when she left, it had all of her articles back from her Lynn Herring days," Serena said.

Liz shook her head. "I can't even imagine doing what your mom did. I mean she moved across the country, changed her name, and led a completely different life for four years."

"Well, my dad messed her up pretty bad. And I think that it was meant to be. I mean, eventually it brought my mom and dad back together and her back to California. And if it weren't for her days as a New Yorker my aunt Tracey wouldn't be in my life," Serena said thoughtfully. The song changed from a popular rap tune to a slow number. A little nervous, she glanced over to where Billy had been standing a few moments ago, but he was gone. She turned back and opened her mouth to speak to Liz, and to her complete horror a little shriek escaped when she saw Billy standing right there behind her friend. She jumped off the bottom bleacher, standing up and smoothing her dress quickly. "Billy!" She saw Liz smothering a laugh at her reaction and glared in her direction.

"Hi Serena. You look...really nice," he said nervously. He hesitated. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Serena froze. Her own words played back in her head: _If he asks me I'll consider it_. Then for no reason she could fathom an image of Kenny looking slightly ruffled and adorable as ever showing her how to use a sword at yesterday's training session...she snapped out of it and saw Billy's expectant face looking back at her. He had really nice brown eyes. She glanced at Liz who was mouthing 'yes' at her. "Sure, I'd like that," she heard herself say. Before she really knew what was happening she was following him to the dance floor, while Liz flashed her the thumbs up from her spot on the bleachers.

Before she really had time to think about what was happening, they were in the middle of the dance floor and Billy was placing his hands on her waist. She nervously put her arms around his neck as they swayed gently to the classic ballad.

When the visions around you,  
Bring tears to your eyes  
And all that surround you,  
Are secrets and lies  
I'll be your strength,  
I'll give you hope,  
Keeping your faith when it's gone  
The one you should call,  
Was standing here all along..

And I will take  
You in my armsAnd hold you right where you belong  
Till the day my life is through  
This I promise you  
This I promise you

"You look really great tonight...I'm sorry, did I already say that? My brain gets kind of muddled when I'm around you," Billy said with an adorable half smile.

Serena smiled back at him. "Thank you." She found herself at a loss for what else to say.

"I was hoping you'd be here...you and your friend, Liz? Wasn't sure if this was your kind of scene. But I thought I'd try anyway," he continued.

"You came here just because you thought I might be here?" she asked in awe.

He nodded, blushing a little. "We only see each other in art...I thought that maybe in a different atmosphere I would be able to talk to you better." He mis-stepped slightly and kicked her toe. "Oh, I'm sorry, see, dancing is not my thing, I'm happier behind an easel with my paints..."

"It's fine. Believe me, this isn't exactly my thing either. But I thought it might be fun. Maybe I was right," Serena said. She didn't even know where these words were coming from. She felt as if she were watching the whole thing transpire from a third person perspective.

"What are you doing after the dance?" he asked nervously.

She was a little surprised by that. "Not much...just going back to my house with Liz...didn't get invited to any parties or anything."

"Me neither," he said.

"I would invite you back to my house to hang out, but my dad, he's really protective of me...like, I would fear for your life if I brought you back to my house." Noticing the alarmed look on his face, she quickly backpedaled. "I mean, he just gets touchy about me and...guys. He kind of wants me to be his little girl forever. But my mom is totally cool with it," she rambled.

He smiled a little. "It's okay. I wasn't pushing for an invite. I was just wondering if you were going to any parties. But I feel better now that you're not, at least I'm not the only loser in school who wasn't invited."

"Well, us art kids, not exactly the most popular in the school," she joked. "And I don't think you're a loser at all."

Just then the song ended. They hesitantly broke apart. "That was really nice...do you want to come hang out with Liz and I?" Serena offered. He smiled at her.

> > > > >

A couple hours later the two friends rushed into Serena's bedroom, closing the door behind them before shrieking excitedly and jumping up and down. "See? What did I tell you?" Liz said excitedly. "See, Billy is a great, cute, really sweet guy that is _our age_, _legal,_ and _available._"

Serena sighed, sitting down on the bed and removing her shoes, much to the relief of her feet that were not used to being in heels. "I know. You were totally right. I mean, I had fun with him tonight. I did." She noticed that she sounded much more upbeat and happy than she had prior to the dance. There was still something bothering her a little, but she tried to push it away.

"You know, I'll bet he's going to ask you out on Monday. I think he wanted to tonight, but he probably didn't want to spoil it," Liz contemplated, removing her own shoes as well.

Serena looked at her. "You really think he's going to ask me out?"

"It's obvious, he's totally into you! I would bet money on it," Liz assured her.

There was a quiet knock at the door. "Come in," Serena called.

Buffy tip toed quietly into the room, closing the door behind her. "Don't worry, your dad's in bed. But he was very antsy after you came home so excited...so I came to get the scoop." She sat on the bed next to her daughter.

"Well, Rena danced with a boy! And then hung out with him all night," Liz filled her in.

Buffy grinned. "That's great sweetie! So who is he? When do I get to meet him?"

"Wow mom, chill out, don't start planning the wedding or anything. His name's Billy Steinman, and he's in my advanced art class," Serena said calmly.

"Well I think that's wonderful." Buffy rubbed her daughter's shoulder. "But maybe we shouldn't tell your dad just yet. I'll try to warm him up to the idea first."

"What idea? Mom, I just danced with him, we're not going out or anything," Serena protested.

"Not yet at least," Liz interjected.

Buffy laughed. "Well I see you don't want me bothering you, so I'll just be going. You girls should go to bed soon, it's been a long day."

"We will. Good night mom," Serena said, kissing her cheek. Buffy waved good night as she left the room.

Serena turned to look at her friend. "I think that's a good idea. I'm pretty beat."

Liz grinned. "All that flirting can do that to ya." She shrieked as Serena threw a pillow at her.

> > > > >

_Rat tat tat. Rat tat tat. _

Serena sat up in her bed, squinting through the darkness for the source of the noise. The digital clock on her stereo read 3:15. The noise sounded again, and she concluded that it was coming from the window. She got up quietly and tip toed over, jumping slightly when she saw a dark form crouched just outside. She stifled a scream with her hand before a voice broke through the silence.

"Serena? Serena, it's me, Kenny."

She took a huge breath of relief before hurrying over to the window. She unlocked it and pushed it up, seeing that in fact it was her Watcher. He was standing on a ladder that was propped against the side of the house. Kenny looked slightly flustered, his blonde hair blown back out of his face. He wore a pristine white button down shirt and a pair of khaki trousers. One hand was behind his back and the other was leaning on the windowsill.

"Kenny, what are you doing here?" she asked, her heart thumping a mile a minute. She tried to straighten her pajamas, self conscious of her disheveled appearance.

"I just...I had to see you. Serena, I sat at home alone all night, thinking about you at your dance. And imagining you...dancing with other boys. And the thought almost drove me insane," he admitted, his voice heartfelt. "Serena, these past months being your Watcher have been the best months of my life. Just being able to see you...I've never met a woman like you."

_Woman. He called me a woman!_ She thought, her head spinning.

"I know there are odds stacked against us, I know the age difference is a factor. But I don't want it to be. I believe destiny brought us together." He poured his heart out to her, his wide, bright eyes and flowing British accent enough to make any girl melt. Suddenly he withdrew the hidden hand from behind his back, revealing one perfect red rose. "I am in love with you Serena. And I have come here to ask you to run away with me."

She took the rose from him, smelling it. "Did you just ask me to run away with you?"

He nodded emphatically. He reached out and took her free hand, encasing it between his own hands and kissing it. "Serena, if we stay here, your family, your friends...they won't allow us to be together...the Council too. So if you want to be with me as much as I want to be with you, we have to leave this place. We can make a wonderful life together."

She stepped closer to the window, bending towards him. "Oh Kenny...I have loved you from the first minute you stepped into my yard. I just never thought...I mean, you're 21, I'm only fifteen..."

He reached out and placed a finger over her lips. "Age is not a factor in my love for you, my beautiful Serena." He moved his hand behind her head, pulling her closer to him until their lips met. She knelt on the windowsill to allow herself better access to him as they kissed passionately. They broke apart after a long minute.

"Yes. I want to run away with you. I would follow you anywhere," she breathed. With one swift motion he scooped her off the window ledge so she was in his arms bridegroom style as he perched at the top of the ladder.

"I knew you would agree!" He leaned in and kissed her one more time before looking her right in the eyes. "Now can you wake up? I'm hungry."

> > > > >

"Rena! Come on, I'm starving. Can we go down to the kitchen and get a snack?"

Serena opened her eyes, very confused. The image in front of her came into focus. To her great dismay she realized she was not in Kenny's arms at the top of a ladder, about to run away...instead she just saw her best friend staring down at her, looking a little impatient. She sighed, collapsing back onto the pillow. "Should have known it was too good to be true."

> > > > >

TBC! Please review!

Not sure what the next chapter will be, whatever I'm in the mood to right. But an idea I'm working with right now is maybe when Serena and Liz first met, in sixth grade. I also have an idea involving a member of the Scooby Gang, most likely Willow. Or maybe something else entirely! But if you have any suggestions or anything you'd like to see, please let me know!


	4. September 7th, 2016

A/N: So sorry for the delay! I promise not to abandon this story for so long again. This chapter is a little short and uneventful, but hey, it's an update! In future chapters you will get to see more of Serena and Kenny. Would you guys like to see more of little Serena as well? Any requests I will consider.

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 3: Julia, Elizabeth, Vanillagigglez, lilsoccercutie, Sanity Fair, and Britt.

I have to say that receiving compliments on Serena's character is probably the best compliment you could give me on this story. Thank you much. I like to think that Serena has her mother's spunk and courage and her father's intelligence and quiet thoughtfulness.

Julia, to answer your question, I have no plans for Spike to appear at this time. In my fics The Good Life and Bound By Fate that precede and accompany this fic, I spun off into my own little world after Buffy's graduation. So basically in this universe Spike left Sunnydale in Lovers Walk and never came back.

So, without further ado, here it is! Enjoy, and as always, please review.

> > > > >

September 7th, 2016

Serena held on tightly to the shoulder straps of her brand new purple backpack as she cautiously entered her homeroom at Sunnydale Middle School. It was her first day of sixth grade, and also her first day in the intimidating middle school. She quickly sat down in a desk towards the back of the room, smoothing her long dark hair and fidgeting with the black plaid skirt and new gray top her mother had insisted she wear. "Serena, your aunt Tracey got you this outfit in Paris just for you to wear today!" she had pleaded earlier that morning. Serena did love her aunt Tracey, so she had worn the outfit. But she didn't really like wearing skirts that much.

She looked around nervously as the classroom started to fill up with students. Some of the kids were familiar from her elementary school. Others were strangers, maybe transfers from private schools or just new kids. But regardless she found herself sitting alone. She hadn't had many friends in elementary school. She thought it was because she was kind of different from the other kids. Her favorite class was art, and while other kids had thrown crayons and markers at each other she had sat quietly, working diligently on her latest masterpiece. She had gotten her talent for art from her daddy. He would smile proudly when she showed him her latest drawings, and then hang them on the fridge or bring them to his office. But not so much lately. A little over a year ago everything had changed. Serena's parents weren't the smiling, happy people that they used to be. Sure, they still smiled, especially when Serena was around, but she could tell it was fake. They weren't really happy. And they didn't act the same way around each other, they didn't kiss nearly as much. The whole mood in their house had changed from the night that they had all sat crying on the steps. The night that her brother died. Serena had liked it better before.

Serena was pulled from her thoughts when a blonde girl in jeans and a pink t-shirt sat down in the desk next to her. She pushed up the little brown glasses that sat on her face and peered at Serena. "Hi. I'm Liz."

"Serena," she said quietly.

"That's a pretty name," Liz said earnestly. She glanced around as the classroom continued to fill up. "Are you new here in Sunnydale too?"

"No. I just don't have many friends," Serena said sadly. "But you're new?"

"Yeah. We just moved here from San Francisco. My daddy got transferred. I didn't really want to move. Sunnydale seems kind of boring," Liz confessed.

Serena couldn't help but smile. She couldn't remember the last time a perfect stranger had just sat down next to her and struck up a conversation like they had known each other forever. "It's not that bad. Where do you live?"

"We just moved into our new house on Pennington Street," Liz replied.

"Oh, I think that's near where my mom grew up! She lived on Revello Drive. At least until she graduated. Then she moved to New York City and changed her name. But then she came back," Serena said, as if that was the sort of thing that happened every day.

Liz's eyes widened. "Wow! That's so cool. I think about that sometimes. What I would change my name to if I went on the lamb. Erica Kane."

Serena raised her eyebrows. "Erica Kane?"

Liz nodded matter-of-factly. "She's the main character on All My Children. My mom's addicted to that show. How about your mom? What did she change her name to?"

"Lynn Herring," Serena said. "Her real name is Buffy Summers O'Leary."

Liz's mouth fell open. "No way. Not _the_ Buffy Summers? The author?"

Serena smiled a little. She had never met a kid her age that knew her mother's work, which wasn't surprising considering besides her smash hit Forbidden Love that had been published more than a decade ago and the high profile movie version, her mother's only publication had been a book of short stories about a year and a half ago. Usually it was older people that were familiar with it. "Yeah, that's her."

"That's so cool! My mom has her book. I wanted to read it, but she said it's for 'young adults'," Liz said sarcastically, using air quotes.

Serena couldn't help but laugh. "My mom said the same thing. But I saw the movie. My aunt Tracey was in it. Well, she's not my aunt really, but she's one of my mom's best friends so I call her my aunt." Although the subject had never directly come up, after everything her mother had told her about the vampires and everything, she could deduce that the story was loosely based on her mother's life. Except some parts she was sure weren't real, like the part where Devon lost his soul and started killing people...she knew that had to be made up, especially if the character was indeed based on her father. She must have used...what did her teacher call it...an artistic license.

"Tracey Edwards? The movie star?" Liz said in a hushed whisper.

"Yeah. But she doesn't act like a movie star. Yeah, she has the limo and the personal assistant and a really big house in LA, but she acts just like a normal person," Serena said honestly.

Their conversation was interrupted when the a kind, smiling woman with brown hair and a short, stocky physique stepped to the front of the classroom. "Hi, I'm Mrs. Scharnott. Welcome to sixth grade English. I see everyone brought notebooks. Now if you'll please take them out, and write down this information about what we'll be doing this year." Serena obeyed the orders, smiling to herself. Maybe this year wasn't going to be so bad after all.

> > > > >

Serena entered the lunchroom three hours later, clutching her purple lunch bag tightly, her backpack still on her back. She looked around, desperately searching for somewhere to sit while trying at the same time not to look like a friendless loser.

"Serena! Serena!"

She spun in the direction of the call, and was pleased to see Liz sitting at a table, a freshly bought lunch on a tray in front of her, waving her over. She hurried over and sat down across from her. "Hi! I was looking for you."

"Same here," Liz said as she took a big bite of her pizza. "So what do you think of middle school?"

"Seems okay. A little intimidating though," Serena admitted as she carefully unpacked her lunch.

Liz shrugged. "It's okay. We'll survive. Hey, did you get your locker yet? I think we're supposed to do it before the end of lunch."

"No, not yet. I was hoping maybe we could get ones next to each other," Serena said quietly.

Liz smiled brightly. "Sure! You're definitely the nicest person I've talked to today."

Serena smiled back. "Me too."

The two girls conversed pleasantly through lunch before heading up to the second floor, where all 6th graders had been instructed to choose lockers. They strolled up and down the rows; some lockers were already claimed with the standard padlocks on them, and some remained empty. Liz stopped in a corner right near their first period English class, where there were a few empty lockers. She opened one and peered inside, crinkling her nose slightly. "Well this looks pretty clean compared to some of the others I've seen. How about here?"

"Looks good," Serena said, opening the locker next to the one Liz seemed to have claimed. She placed her backpack on the ground and started placing the books she had received so far neatly on the bottom shelf. When she was done she hung up her bookbag on the hook, and removed a few photos that she had brought from the front pocket, as well as a roll of tape. She carefully arranged the photos on the inside of the door. When she was done she tilted her head to examine it. It was okay for now. Later she'd have to put up some wallpaper, maybe add some of her art. She almost jumped a mile when she heard Liz's voice directly in her ear.

"Is that your family?"

Serena glanced over her shoulder to see that Liz appeared to be done with her own locker and was examining the pictures. "Yeah. That's me with my parents." She pointed to the picture of the three of them about a year and a half ago. It had been just after they had found out Buffy was pregnant with Liam. It was the most recent picture she could find of the three of them where her parents still looked happy. "And that's me with my aunt Tracey. I think you know her," Serena said quickly.

"You're so lucky. I don't know any famous people. And who are they?" she asked, pointing to the third and final picture.

"Oh, that's me with some family and some of my parents' friends. Those are my grandparents, Grandpa Giles and Grandma Joyce, and those are my aunts Willow, Tara, and Anya, and my uncle Xander."

"Cool. Looks like you have a nice family. We have kind of a small family. My mom is an only child, and my dad just has one sister. She doesn't have any kids," Liz said.

Serena felt a little pang of sympathy for her new friend. Although her biological family was very small, between all of her parents' friends she had a circle of people she was close to. In some ways it made up for not having many friends. "Do you have friends back in San Francisco?"

Liz nodded. "A couple. We've been keeping in touch by email. And I know we'll go back to visit. My mom has friends there too."

They were interrupted when the bell rang. Serena scrambled to grab her books for the afternoon and get the brand new combination lock on her locker. Liz did the same. "So, what do you have next?" Liz asked, consulting her schedule, which seemed a bit wrinkled.

Serena looked at her own schedule, which was still as flat and fresh as when she had received it. "Social studies. You?"

"Same! Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other," Liz said happily as they started off down the hall.

Serena smiled at her. "Good. I'm glad."

> > > > >

TBC

Sorry if this chapter was a little uneventful and/or boring...I'm just glad to be updating. Please review! It will make me write faster!


	5. October 23rd, 2020

A/N: I am so sorry for the unforgivable long delay in updating this fic...blame Dawn and Connor. They've taken over my mind with all their drama. ;-)

Anyways I think you'll enjoy this chapter, especially those of you who have been clamoring for more Scooby Gang cameos. Enjoy! Thank you for bearing with me, and as always, please review! It will encourage me to update faster:-)

> > > > >

Saturday, October 23rd, 2020

Three weeks after Homecoming, Serena was sitting in the backyard stretching in preparation for her training session with Kenny. She stretched her arms over her head as she did a simple calf stretch, thinking about how much her life had changed in the past three weeks.

It turned out Liz had been right: Billy had asked her out the Monday after the dance. At first she hadn't quite known what to do, her dream/fantasy sequence about Kenny still running through her head. But then she had remembered what Liz had said: Billy was her age, legal, and available, not to mention cute. And besides, he was totally into her. So she had accepted. And she was glad she did. She had to admit it was really nice to be able to hold hands with someone in school, and go out with someone on weekends. There had been so many firsts in the past three weeks: her first date, and more recently her first kiss. Each first had been very memorable and she had noticed that she was thinking about Kenny less and less. Liz kept saying how this was so great, she was moving on, and so lucky to have a real boyfriend.

Serena's parents liked Billy as well. Especially Buffy. She couldn't be happier for her daughter, and would help her decide which outfit to wear on a date and help her with her hair. Angel on the other hand was still warming up to the whole idea of Serena having a boyfriend. The first time he had met Billy he had been a little intimidating, but to Serena's amazement Billy had handled it like a pro, not getting flustered, and Angel had gained some respect for him.

However, one person didn't know yet that Serena was no longer a free agent. And that was Kenny. Every time the topic had started to come up while he was around she had found herself changing the subject. She didn't know why, she just felt funny about him knowing about Billy. It was a feeling she couldn't quite explain. But she knew it was going to come out in the open sometime. Kenny was around the O'Leary residence a lot for Serena's training sessions, and Billy was starting to come over more and more. Serena also wasn't sure how she would explain Kenny to Billy. She couldn't exactly just introduce him as her Watcher and leave it at that.

"It's best for everyone if the men in my life just stay separate," she mumbled aloud.

"What was that?" sounded a male voice from behind her. She jumped slightly, turning around to see Kenny peering at her, his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind. Her stomach did a little flip. _I'll have to work on not doing that_, she noted to herself, willing her mind to focus on her boyfriend.

"Oh, hi Kenny. I didn't know you were here yet," she said cheerfully.

"Yes, your mother told me to come right back. So, if you're ready, I thought we'd work on hand-to-hand combat some more today. You've made significant improvements, but your technique still needs some perfecting." He smiled at her shyly.

Again she forced herself to think of Billy. "Yeah, sure. I'm ready when you are."

For the next twenty minutes or so Kenny worked on proper arm position and blocking techniques with his slayer, stopping often to praise her on her progress. Finally they both needed to stop to rest, taking a seat at the picnic table.

"Excellent work Serena. I think you're almost ready to go patrolling by yourself," he said.

She blinked, surprised. "Really? You think I'm ready?"

He nodded. "You learn exceptionally quickly, and you have had great success in your patrols that your parents and I have accompanied you on. I see no reason you're not ready to try it solo. But of course only if you feel ready."

She considered that. "I think I am. I just don't know if my parents will want me to yet."

"I'll talk to them. Maybe we can come up with an agreement to start you gradually, with someone watching you from a distance but not interfering unless there's a problem. It's important that you build up your confidence. It is clear that you were born to be a slayer Serena, just like your mother."

Serena sighed, staring straight ahead. "You know, when my parents told me back in June that I was a slayer, I was really upset. Mostly because ever since I found out about my mom all I heard was stories about how hard her calling made her life when she was my age. She was only a few years older than me when she changed her name and moved across the country because she couldn't take it anymore. And I was terrified that would be me. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life as unhappy as she was."

"But your mom definitely seems to have found happiness now," Kenny said quietly.

Serena shook her head. "Now, maybe. But even just a month before you came things were a mess. My baby brother never got to live because of my mom being the slayer. And she almost didn't recover from that, neither did my dad." She paused. "But somehow they got past it. You could never even know how much better things are now than they were a few months ago. They're so much happier. It seems like everyone finally figured out how to be happy. And that's made this whole transition a lot easier for me...so I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was wrong. I'm not doomed to be miserable like my mom was for so long. She was so alone in high school. I'm not. I have my parents, and my aunts and uncles, and the coolest best friend in the world and...and you." She turned hesitantly to look at Kenny and their eyes met for a moment.

Kenny seemed to struggle to find words. "I'm so glad that I've been able to help you. I...I was afraid just like you were when the Council told me I was to come here and be a Watcher to the new slayer. I was afraid I couldn't handle it, afraid of failure, and afraid...well afraid that you would be...difficult." Serena laughed a little.

"I suppose it's a good thing I don't give you as much trouble as my mom gave Grandpa Giles back in the day," she said with a smile.

"Most definitely," he continued. "I didn't quite know what to expect. But I feel as if we've made so much progress...and you, Serena, you're...you're..."

"I'm what?" she whispered. He started to answer when the sound of footsteps nearby startled them both out of the moment.

"Sorry to interrupt...but Serena, Billy's here to see you," Buffy said, entering the yard.

Serena froze. Just ten minutes ago she had been trying her hardest to move on from her infatuation with Kenny, but if she wasn't mistaken, they had just shared something. And he had been about to tell her something right when her mother had interrupted.

"Serena? Do you want to come in the house? Or should I send him back here?" Buffy prodded.

Serena blinked, avoiding Kenny's gaze. "Um, I'll come in." She stood up quickly, running her fingers through her hair.

"Kenny, why don't you come inside and have something to drink while Serena talks to her boyfriend?" Buffy offered. Serena felt her stomach drop as her mother uttered that fateful word, and she couldn't help but look right at Kenny, who was looking right at her. A surprised expression passed over his face as he took in Buffy's words and looked at Serena: surprise combined with what looked like hurt, and something else that Serena wasn't quite sure she wanted to identify right now.

"Sure," Kenny said very quietly, not looking away from Serena. Finally he broke the uncomfortable gaze and rose to his feet. Serena hurried into the house, leaving her mother and Watcher behind. She walked through the kitchen into the living room, where Billy was sitting on the couch. When he saw her he stood up immediately, grinning at her.

"Hey," he said, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her in a hug, as they did every time they saw each other. "Sorry for just dropping by like this, I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to give you this." He handed her a cd. "I burned you a copy of what we were listening to at my house the other day. I knew you liked it."

She smiled, still feeling very distracted. "Thanks Billy. That's really sweet. I'll listen to it tonight." She noticed that he was looking at something behind her. When she turned around she was a little surprised to see Kenny standing in the doorway, staring at the two of them. _You may as well get it over with_, she told herself.

She took Billy's hand. "Billy, this is Kenny. He's...a friend of the family. Kenny, this is Billy...my boyfriend." She didn't allow herself to look at her Watcher, focusing her attention on the floor instead.

Billy nodded politely. "Nice to meet you."

Kenny gave him an appraising glance. "Likewise," he said stiffly.

Buffy walked up behind him, noticing the tension in the room immediately. "Um, Kenny, why don't you come back to the kitchen and have a drink, and give Serena and Billy some time alone?" She looked at Serena questioningly, wondering what was going on, but Serena remained blank.

Kenny cleared his throat. "Thank you Buffy, but I actually should be going. I forgot I have um...a previous engagement. I'll just grab my things and let myself out. Serena, I'll see you tomorrow." He hesitated a moment before turning and hurrying back in the direction he'd come from.

Buffy stared at her daughter in confusion after he was gone. "That was weird. Do you know what that was about?"

Serena shook her head. "Nope. No idea." But she had a feeling that she knew exactly what had just happened. And she honestly wasn't sure how she felt about it.

> > > > >

About a half hour later Billy left, and Serena sat down on the couch and started flipping channels absentmindedly. She was so deep in thought she barely even noticed when her mother sat down next to her. "So are you going to tell me what happened with Kenny before, or I am going to have to guess?" she asked conversationally.

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. Nothing happened. Sometimes he's just weird like that. I think it's a British thing."

Buffy didn't believe her, but she didn't bother arguing. "Okay, whatever you say. How's Billy?"

"He's good. He burned me a cd," Serena said simply, finally switching off the tv when it failed to distract her from the war waging inside her head right now.

"That's nice." They sat there in silence for a moment. Finally Serena stood up.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk. It's a really nice day out, and I could use the exercise, since my training session got cut short and all," she said.

"Okay. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's okay. I'm a big girl, it's the middle of the day, I'll be fine." She forced a smile. "I won't be long."

"Okay. Have a nice walk baby. When you get back I'll make us some lunch," Buffy said, kissing her daughter's cheek. They said goodbye and Serena left the house, relieved to feel the fresh air on her face. She started to walk down the street, not paying much attention to where she was going as she went over the events of the past hour in her mind for about the fifteenth time.

It had all started innocent enough. She had started the day thinking about how happy Billy had been making her. And then somehow she had gotten to talking to Kenny, and before she knew it they were locked in this deep conversation that she wasn't even sure how it had begun. When she was talking to him she had felt so comfortable, and she could tell that he was really listening and understanding what she was saying. Then he had started talking to her, and looking at her like that...she felt herself shiver despite the warm air when she recalled how Kenny's eyes had felt gazing into her own. It had felt as if he could see right through her, but not in a creepy way. It was a way that had made her feel so relaxed. And he had been about to say something about her. "You're..." Serena's mind went into overdrive imagining the multitude of words that could possibly have followed that. Most of them sounded like something that Kenny would say to her in one of her dreams like the one where he had carried her out the window to run away together...she stopped that thought. _Maybe it wasn't anything like that at all. Maybe he was just going to tell me again what a great slayer I am. _

Or maybe he was going to tell me something else.

She groaned and walked a little faster. This whole situation was beyond confusing. She had thought she had finally had it straightened out, and then Kenny had reacted that way to seeing her with Billy and made her question everything.

_Is it possible he has feelings for me? _

She tried to convince herself that couldn't be true. Certainly he would know better than to fall for a fifteen year old that also happened to be his slayer. She knew from talking with Grandpa Giles that it had happened before, Watchers falling in love with their slayers. And Kenny _was_ much younger than the average Watcher.

Serena forced herself to think about Billy. Sweet Billy that cared about her so much and loved to make her happy. Being with him seemed so easy. They had a lot in common, they were the same age, there was nothing standing in their way. Except a certain twenty-one year old blonde Englishman.

_Maybe I'm just one of those people who always wants the unattainable. Maybe I'll never be happy because I'll always be going for something I can never have. _That was what she had been telling herself. But after this morning, she wondered if Kenny _was_ something she couldn't have.

_Even if he likes me there'll still be complications. _The fact remained that he was six years older than her, and she was very much a minor. Also, the Council would fire Kenny for getting involved with his slayer. And she didn't even want to think about what her parents would say, especially Angel.

_I need advice,_ she thought desperately. Her mom was out of the question. She thought of Liz next, but knew she would just shoot her down and insist that Billy is perfect for her and she should just focus on how lucky she is. Aunt Tracey might be good, but she was in Australia on a movie shoot, and this was something Serena would prefer to discuss in person. Finally she decided on the perfect people to talk to, and hurried along to reach her destination, happy that she had been heading in the right direction.

Ten minutes later she was ringing the doorbell of the modest little house she had always felt at home in. She heard footsteps, and Willow opened the door, smiling brightly upon seeing who it was. "Serena! What a surprise!" They hugged quickly. "It's great to see you! Is Buffy here?"

"No, it's just me today. Can I come in? I'd like to talk to you about something. And Tara, if she's home," Serena said.

"Of course, you know you're welcome here any time." Serena stepped inside gratefully and Willow closed the door behind her. "So, how's the slayer training going?"

"Really good. Kenny said he thinks I'm ready to patrol alone," she said, taking a seat on the couch in the homey living room.

"Wow, that's amazing! You're learning really fast. Why don't you sit down on the couch, I'll go get Tara, and then we can chat," Willow said, in her usual upbeat manner. Serena proceeded on to the living room while the redhead went upstairs, making herself at home on the couch. A few moments later Willow came back, with Tara in tow.

"Hi Serena! How are you?" the blonde said softly, sitting in the armchair across from Serena.

"I'm okay. I just kind of need some advice, and you guys were the first people I thought of," she admitted.

Willow perched on the arm of the chair that Tara was in, looking at her "niece" intently. "Well, go right ahead. We're good listeners."

Serena smiled and took a deep breath before beginning. "Well, say you have a situation. A hypothetical situation."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "Hypothetical?"

"Yes. Strictly," Serena said quickly before rushing on. "Say that...someone had feelings for this guy. A guy that was...unattainable, way out of her league, and it would create all kinds of problems for her to be with him. And she knew this, so she tried her hardest to push those feelings away. And then there's another guy. A guy that is very easy to have...in fact, she has him. And she likes him a lot, but not quite in the same way that she likes the other guy. But this guy's really sweet and totally reciprocates the feelings." She thought a moment before continuing. "And say this girl in this very hypothetical situationhad decided that she was happy with the second guy."

"Easy, sweet guy? Or unattainable guy?" Willow interjected, a little confused.

"Easy, sweet guy. But anyways, then something happened that lead her to believe that maybe unattainable guy wasn't as unattainable as she'd first thought. Maybe she thought she got a...a signal, that maybe he liked her too."

"Well I can see how that would complicate things. But you also said that being with unattainable guy would create problems. And I'm guessing those problems are still there even if the feelings are mutual," Tara commented.

Serena nodded. "Yeah. They are. But anyways, then after she got this signal, this girl started to rethink everything she had decided about settling for...I mean, being happy with, easy, sweet guy, and she got really messed up."

Willow and Tara exchanged a knowing glance with each other. "Well Serena, I think that this whole thing depends on if maybe-unattainable guy really was giving hypothetical girl a signal. Because I don't want to sound harsh, but it could be wishful thinking on the girl's part," Tara said gently.

"I agree. I would say that the first step would be to find out if this guy really liked you. Because if it was just wishful thinking, then the girl might destroy a good thing with the guy she's with, and then nobody wins," Willow added.

Serena nodded slowly. "I thought that too..."

"But honey, you also have to think about the guys in the situation. Easy guy sounds like he really cares about this girl, and he would probably be crushed to know that he was just an easy distraction from the guy the girl truly wanted," Tara said.

Serena frowned a little at that. "I don't know if I would say he's just an easy distraction..."

"Well it certainly sounds to me that although you...I mean, this girl, might appreciate this guy for who he is, her feelings aren't as deep as they are for difficult guy. So that isn't exactly fair to this guy that it sounds like is pretty into this girl," Willow pointed out.

The young slayer considered that. She had never really thought about how that this entire situation might not be fair to Billy, and how the only way it _would_ be was if she were to put her crush on Kenny behind her once and for all. "So, are you saying that in the end, this girl...she might end up alone?"

Tara looked at her sympathetically. "It doesn't have to be that way. But it might be, if she continues to let her heart be in limbo."

"Basically, she has to figure out what she wants sooner rather than later. Because the longer this goes on, the more likely that someone's going to get hurt," Willow finished.

Serena leaned against the back of the couch. "But no matter what happens, someone's going to end up getting hurt."

Tara reached over and took her hand. "It's sad, but a lot of times that's life."

Serena bit her lip and nodded. "So basically you're saying that the best advice for someone in this situation is to first find out if the more complicated guy really does have feelings for her. And if it turns out he doesn't, then try to move on as much as possible and focus on the guy she has already."

Willow nodded. "Pretty much. But there's also the off chance that maybe this complicated guy does reciprocate the feelings..."

"And then things would probably get even more complicated," Serena said with a heaving sigh.

"They might. But to a certain extent, you have to try and put your own happiness first. There might be complications and it might not be easy to be with him, but if its really meant to be, it will all work out. Think of your parents. They overcame so much adversity to get to where they are today. That doesn't happen unless the relationship is truly blessed," Tara said softly.

_She's right_, Serena thought. Her parents had struggled through so many things; Angel was a vampire and Buffy was the slayer for God's sake. That lead to a whole set of ingrained issues that didn't even have to do with them personally. And after that had been settled, they had still faced having to find their way back to each other and then overcome the obstacles of married life, the most major being the loss of Liam, which Serena felt fairly confident had been the hardest thing for them to overcome in all of their years together. Yet now they were still stronger than ever.

She stood up slowly. "Thank you guys, so much. You give really great advice."

Willow smiled wryly. "We do know an awful lot about guys for a couple of lesbians!"

Serena laughed. "Seriously, you guys are the best." She reached out and gave each of them a quick hug.

"I'm glad we could help. And you know that we're always here for you, anytime," Tara reminded her as the three of them walked to the door.

"I know. And that really means a lot." Serena opened the door and stepped outside. "I should be going home, my mom's probably starting to worry." She thanked them again and waved goodbye. She was halfway down the walkway when Tara called after her.

"And Serena? Good luck with that hypothetical situation," she said with a knowing smile.

Serena nodded and smiled. "Thanks." She slowly continued down to the sidewalk, mumbling to herself. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need it."

> > > > >

TBC!


	6. October 24th, 2020

Dedication: This one's for Kitty...happy birthday!

A/N: I finally updated...so sorry for neglecting this fic for so long. When I finally started writing this chapter I realized once again how much I enjoy writing for my little universe. This chapter is definitely my favorite so far. The idea for it actually came to me a while ago, when I was thinking about where to take this fic and one of the little moments within this chapter just popped into my head. I really like how this turned out, and I hope you will too! Please review and let me know what you think! And many thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story and continues to review. It means a lot!

> > > > >

Sunday, October 24th, 2020

"Sweetie, are you sure you're okay?" Buffy asked with a frown as she watched her daughter pace nervously around the living room.

Serena startled at the sound of her mother's voice, plastering on a fake smile. "Yeah! I'm fine. Just anxious for my training session," she said lamely, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Buffy stared at her intently, not quite convinced that's all it was. "I've never seen you this excited to train before."

Serena shrugged animatedly. "I guess I'm getting more into it." She looked at herself in the mirror over the fireplace for the fiftieth time that morning. Whether or not she had intended to, she had taken more care getting dressed and ready this morning than she usually did for her sessions with Kenny. She decided that she had succeeded. She looked a little more put together than usual, but not as if she had tried too hard. She had pulled her hair up away from her face in a high ponytail, and added a little extra lip gloss. She had also put on a purple track suit that her mother had given her for her last birthday that she had never cut the tags off until this morning.

_What are you doing?_ She asked herself for the millionth time. _Trying to look good wasn't part of the plan. This is supposed to be an uninfluenced little test. I'm just supposed to find out once and for all if Kenny is interested in me whatsoever. If he's not, then I can live happily ever after with Billy_.

_Then why am I so nervous?_

"Serena? Hello?" Buffy called out. "Earth to Serena."

She snapped out of it, feeling guilty upon realizing that her mother had been talking to her and she hadn't heard a word she'd said. "What? Sorry."

Buffy stared at her incredulously. "What is with you today? You're a total space cadet."

She was trying to formulate an answer when a knock sounded at the door. "That must be Kenny," she said, trying to ignore the flip-flops her stomach was doing as she rushed to the door. She opened it and smiled nervously. "Hi."

Kenny nodded to her, not quite meeting her eyes. Serena could feel that the tension that had resulted from the incident yesterday with Billy that she was still trying to make sense of was still there. "Hello Serena. I was thinking we should move our session to the basement today, it's a little bit cold outside." She might have imagined it, but she thought his eyes lingered a little big longer than usual on her carefully freshened face.

Serena nodded. "Sounds good." He stepped inside and she closed the door behind him. Serena faintly heard him greet her mother, finding it hard to focus with the impending task of what she had to do looming before her.

"Keep an eye on her today, she's a little out of it. Make sure she's got the right end of all the pointy objects," she heard Buffy say half-jokingly.

Soon the two of them were headed down to the basement. Serena flipped on the lights to reveal the small yet spacious work out area that her parents had created years ago when they had bought the house. Since Serena had been called they had made some updates, installing new dummies and punching bags as well as new mats on the floors. She finished descending the stairs, turning around to face Kenny. Before she could speak he cut her off.

"So I thought we would review our basic self defense moves today, and then move on to some weapons training." She noticed he still wasn't meeting her eyes as he removed his notes from his briefcase.

She paused, unsure of when she should make her move. She decided to wait, as to not seem too rehearsed. She went along with his stiff, slightly distracted instructions, practicing her blocking as he directed half-hearted jabs at her. She successfully blocked every attempt, moving on autopilot until she suddenly stumbled backwards, not realizing they had moved so far across the room that she had ran right into the vaulting horse. She started to fall back until two surprisingly strong arms wrapped firmly around her waist, catching her. Her mouth fell slightly open at the sudden close contact as Kenny stared directly at her for the first time all day as he stood inches from her, holding her up. She could almost feel the electricity from their sudden closeness making the air crackle. After a few long moments he straightened her, and she grabbed onto the horse for balance as she found her own footing once again, the fact that their sudden close contact had left her a little shaky not helping. After another second he looked away, and neither of them knew what to say.

"Kenny, I think we need to talk," Serena blurted, not letting go of the horse.

He straightened, avoiding her eyes once again. "About what?"

"About yesterday," she said, the strength and confidence in her voice surprising herself. "About Billy."

The young blonde Watcher ruffled his hair before putting his hands in his pockets. "What about him?"

"I should have told you I was seeing someone. It wasn't fair of me to put you on the spot like that. I just didn't know how to bring it up," she admitted. He was silent. She noted that he wasn't asking her why she would apologize for not telling him that she had a boyfriend, and wondered if maybe they were on the same page more than she thought. She took a deep breath, taking a step towards him. "I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. The way you acted when you met Billy really surprised me. And it made me think about a lot of things." Still he didn't respond. His head was down, but she could tell he was listening very carefully. "I didn't really know what to make of your reaction. I didn't think that...that..."

"I would care?" he said hoarsely, speaking for the first time since she had begun her confession.

"Yes," she said in surprise. "But you do. Care, I mean."

His eyes left the floor, and instead found the ceiling. "Serena, I think we should resume our training session."

"No, we shouldn't. We need to talk about this. Kenny, I'm well aware of the circumstances here. I know that you're my Watcher, I know I'm your Slayer. I know that your job is to train me and mine is to learn from you. But I think we've been more than that. We're friends. I like spending time with you. I..." she stopped talking, frustrated that nothing she said seemed to be coming together the right way. "Okay. I've come this far, so I may as well just say it." She took a quick breath. "I like you, Kenny. But I chalked it all up to some silly teen crush, I never thought it was possible for you to maybe-"

"Like you too," he said, his eyes finally finding hers.

Her voice caught in her throat and it took her a moment to find it again. "Yes. That's why your reaction yesterday really, really threw me. And so do the little moments we keep having, like just now."

He looked away again, and he seemed to be deep in thought. Finally he spoke, fiercely. "Serena, you're a fifteen year old girl."

"I've done the math," she replied quietly.

"I'm your _Watcher_," he said to her, as if this fact had great significance.

"I've noticed," she said, her voice nearing a whisper.

"And perhaps I was surprised upon meeting Mr. Billy, but to take that surprise and turn it into..." his voice trailed off.

"Just tell me the truth," she pleaded. "Please just tell me if I imagined what I think I saw yesterday, what I'm almost positive I see- and feel- right now."

He crossed his arms, turned from her to the point where she could not see his face. "Serena, my only feelings for you are completely platonic," he said flatly.

She was surprised that there was no reaction in her gut when he said that, no drop in her stomach or sinking of her heart. Because although he might have spoken the words, he had said it with less conviction than she had ever heard him speak with, and she didn't accept it. She took three big shaking steps until she could reach out and touch his arm. She did so, turning him towards her as she did. "Then kiss me," she said faintly, the words out of her mouth before she could even remember thinking them.

"What?" he whispered, looking right into her eyes.

"Kiss me. If you really don't care about me then prove it," she said, a hint of a challenge in her voice. Their eyes remained locked for what seemed like an eternity, although it was probably only seconds. She saw a thousand emotions seem to cross over his face. Then she realized that his face seemed to be moving closer to hers...she closed her eyes in anticipation...

"Serena, phone for you," Buffy called out, as she opened the door and appeared at the top of the stairs. Kenny visibly jumped back and Serena stiffened, the moment broken. However, their eyes did not leave one another's. "Who is it?" Serena asked, not breaking the gaze.

"It's Liz. She says its important," Buffy said, staring back and forth between the two in confusion. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," Serena said, her voice flat. She finally pulled her eyes away from Kenny's as she walked up the stairs, taking the phone from her mom. "Hey Liz." _This better be good_.

"Hey Rena, sorry to interrupt the training, I was just wondering if you knew what pages we had to read for English," Liz said.

"Um, hold on a second," Serena said, jogging up the stairs to her room, not quite noticing the basic things such as her feet hitting the stairs. Almost on autopilot, she entered her room and pulled her agenda from her bookbag, flipping through the pages until she found the assignment. "Four oh five to four fifteen."

"Rena, that's our global homework," Liz said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Serena shook her head. "Sorry. English...that's 651-657."

"Thanks...okay, spill. What's going on?"

Serena sighed. Once again, her best friend knowing her too well was a problem. "I can't tell you because I'm not even sure myself."

She could almost picture Liz raising an eyebrow. "And that makes a lot of sense."

Serena groaned. "I know, I'm sorry. Look, I'll call you later. I just need to get back to my training and figure a few things out." _Not necessarily in that order._

"Okay, whatever. Later."

"Bye," Serena said distractedly, hanging up the phone. She tried to take a deep breath, but it didn't help.

She didn't know if she had really intended for things to go that far. _Kiss me?_ she thought to herself in disbelief. _What was I thinking?_

"I definitely pushed too hard. I probably scared him off," she muttered to herself. She started to say how now she would never know how he really felt about her, but deep down she knew that wasn't true. This was one of those cases where actions spoke louder than words. And even though he had never exactly stated his feelings out loud...she was pretty sure she had gotten her answer.

But that didn't mean she knew what to do.

She scarcely remembered the trip back downstairs, she was so deep in thought. She handed the phone off to her mom, who accepted it but gave Serena an odd look. "Are you okay?" she asked for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

"Yeah, peachy," Serena said, not bothering to remove the sarcasm from her voice. She headed back down to the basement, half surprised when she saw Kenny still standing there, in almost the same spot he had been when she'd left. She shut the basement door behind her before speaking. "So you didn't run off this time," she said flatly. He avoided her eyes. "Look, you don't have to say it, okay? I'm sorry. Maybe that went too far. We don't have to talk about it anymore," she resigned. "But remember that ignoring the...situation doesn't make it go away." She had refrained from saying the word 'problem' because she wasn't sure if that was what it was.

Kenny looked at her, his eyes emotionless. "Understood." He cleared his throat. "If you'd like, I'd like to go over some basic weapons training." He picked a crossbow up. Serena nodded in agreement. As he began to prattle on, explaining the 'art of the crossbow' for the tenth time, she realized sadly that the answer Kenny had unwittingly given her today had only made things more complicated.

> > > > >

TBC!

Please review!


	7. October 25th, 2020

A/N: -facepalm- I am so sorry for the inexcusable delay in updating this fic...real life has been really hectic, between moving and my junior year of high school and just everything that has been going on. I hope you can all accept my apologies. The good news is, when I began this chapter I realized just how much I missed writing this story. There are few things I enjoy more than writing for this little "verse" that I've created. So, in an attempt to make it up to you, this is a really long chapter. I hope you enjoy, and please review! A big thanks to everyone who has continued to follow this story despite all of the long waits...you guys are the best!

> > > > >

Monday, October 25th, 2020

The morning after her training session with Kenny, Serena lied awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't slept very well. She had dreamt that a giant, troll-like demon had taken Kenny and Billy hostage, and had them at opposite ends of a plank that hovered over the ocean. She had been standing in the middle, and as the plank started to give, she knew that she only had time to save one of them and leap to safety. _"Make your choice!"_ the demon had yelled, with an evil, cackling laugh. She had just stood there, looking back and forth between the two of them, unable to move. Then she had felt the plank give way, and just as she started to fall through the air she had jolted awake in her bed, her heart racing. After that, she hadn't been able to fall back asleep.

What got to her most was the reality of the dream. Sure, it was a highly exaggerated metaphor for her situation, but the fact of the matter remained. She had a decision to make. She either had to realize that her feelings for Kenny were very likely to go unrequited, and attempt to move on and find happiness with Billy...or, end what could be the start of something really good with Billy on the small chance that someday, Kenny would come around.

But perhaps the thing that scared her the most was the very real possibility that she could end up with nothing. Just like in the dream, when her inability to decide had sent both of them plunging to their deaths, along with herself.

She groaned into her pillow as she turned over to lie on her stomach. She still couldn't believe how drastically she had acted yesterday. She had never in a million years intended for things to go that far. But in the heat of the moment, after seeing the slight flicker of _something_ in Kenny's eyes...

_What if I'm reading him all wrong? What if, like he said, his only feelings for me are platonic? What if he only sees me as his slayer, some responsibility? _But then she saw the incident in the basement replay in her mind. _For a split second, I was so sure that he was going to kiss me. I was so sure._

But despite that one tiny moment when she was sure they had connected on a deeper level, as soon as she had returned from taking Liz's phone call, Kenny had transformed back into his usual, all-business self, acting detached and even cool towards her as he robotically explained the more delicate aspects of vampire slaying. It had been as if the near-kiss had never even happened.

_Maybe I just dreamed the whole thing_, she thought glumly. _Maybe it was like that thing that Mrs. Fay mentioned in Psych last week, about how dreams usually represent urges or wishes that go unrealized during the waking hours_.

She slowly sat up in bed, resigned to the fact that more sleep was out of the question. She didn't have school today, it was a superintendent's conference day. It was only 8:30, so she didn't want to wake her parents up yet. Instead, she padded over to her computer, plopping down at her desk as she turned on her instant messenger. Almost immediately, an IM from Liz popped up on the screen.

xMissLizx: You're up early for a day off.

Serena quickly typed a response.

Serena0722: Couldn't sleep. You?

xMissLizx: Remember, I'm not as lucky as you. I don't have a computer in my room, so my best chances of getting some undisturbed surfing time in is when the fam's asleep.

Before she could reply, another message quickly popped up.

xMissLizx: So, you never called back to tell me what was up with you yesterday. When I called you sounded like you had just got back from Mars or something.

Serena sighed as she contemplated her response. _I can't hide this from Liz any longer. Maybe she won't understand, but I need to talk to someone. _

Serena0722: I think I may have majorly screwed up my life.

xMissLizx: I knew it. This has to do with a certain blonde British hunk, doesn't it?

Serena0722: You know me too well.

xMissLizx: Okay. As soon as my mom gets up, I'm coming over.

Serena smiled gratefully. Sometimes it really was like she and Liz could read each other's minds.

Serena0722: Thanks. You're the best.

xMissLizx: Hang in there. I'm gonna go get ready. 3 you.

Serena0722: 3 See you soon.

Liz signed off, and Serena did the same a couple of minutes later. _Liz is going to think I'm crazy. But at least I'll be able to talk to someone_, she thought.

She picked up the book she was reading, trying to focus on something other than the war waging in her mind, but she only succeeded in giving herself a faint headache. She tossed the book aside and looked at the clock again. It was almost 9. Her parents usually got up around this time. She turned on the tv and absentmindedly flipped channels until she heard faint noises down the hall. Her parents were up. She switched off the tv and slowly walked to the door, trying to look as if she was slightly groggy from sleep. She wandered slowly out into the hall. Buffy was pulling on her robe, and she smiled at her daughter. "Good morning baby. You're up early."

"Nine o'clock isn't exactly early," Serena said wryly.

"Well, for you on a Sunday it is," her mother said cheerfully. "Want some breakfast? I think your dad's going to make pancakes."

"That sounds good," Serena said truthfully. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until the mention of food had caused her stomach to growl loudly. "I'll be down in a minute." She quickly entered the bathroom and went through her quick morning ritual. While she was washing her hands she thought about how happy her parents had been lately. The thought made her smile. Ever since Liam, there had been a sort of dark cloud that had always hung over their household, a kind of heavy presence that no one ever acknowledged, yet everyone was more than aware of. It had affected her parents' marriage in particular. But just within these last few months, she had noticed a world of difference. She wasn't sure exactly what had brought it about. She assumed that something had happened that had finally persuaded them to talk about what had happened five years ago. She suspected that herself being called as a slayer had something to do with it. Whatever had caused the change, she was very grateful. It was wonderful to see her parents so happy again, just like she remembered them being when she was little, before everything had happened.

She finished up in the bathroom and headed downstairs. Buffy was in the kitchen, getting out dishes for breakfast. She hoisted herself up onto one of the stools. Her mother turned to smile at her. "We ran out of pancake mix. Your dad just went to get some more, he'll only be a minute."

Serena nodded. She thought for a second before making up her mind to ask the question that was now nagging at her brain. "Mom, it's great to see you and dad so happy lately."

Buffy smiled at her, surprised at her words. "Yes. It's great to be happy."

"What brought this about? I mean, I have some idea, but I'm just wondering. It's almost like all of a sudden, one day all of the bad went away, and things were..." her voice trailed off.

"Like they used to be," Buffy finished for her. She put down the dishes, stopping to stare at Serena. "Well, you're a smart girl. Even though you were young, I'm sure you remember what losing Liam did to your father and I." Serena nodded somberly. "Well, we didn't talk about it for the longest time. We kept a lot of it bottled up inside, and I regret more than anything that it took five years for us to finally confront those demons. But then I guess I just realized that this was the way things were meant to be, and we finally got everything out in the open. And I am so glad we did."

"What made you realize that this was the way things were meant to be?" Serena asked with quiet curiosity.

Buffy smiled to herself as she considered how to explain it. She knew she couldn't just say that an angel, or whoever Anne had been, had appeared before her and showed her a glimpse of what her life might have been like if she had stayed in New York. Despite all of the odd things this family had been through, that sounded even crazier than usual. Also, she had felt a strong sense ever since that day that it was something she should keep to herself. That was why she had never told anyone.

"Well, I had been thinking a lot about some choices I made in my life, and wondering if they were the right ones," Buffy explained. "I've told you about my life in New York." Serena nodded. "Well, when your father came back into my life, I was in the middle of something completely different from what I'd had back here, in Sunnydale. And I was happy there." She thought back to that pivotal time in her life; some of those days remained some of her most vivid memories even years later. "Your father presented the opportunity to go back to this life. That was probably the hardest decision I ever had to make. And I came so close to staying in New York," Buffy said, remembering that fateful interview at the _New York Times _and rushing into the apartment just as Angel was about to sign the commitment papers. "But then I realized that it was time to come home."

"How did you know?" Serena said. Sure, she had heard tons of stories about her mother's life in New York when she was known as Lynn Herring. After all, Serena's middle name was Lynn. Her mother often said that she had chosen that to be a part of her daughter's name in order to honor that time in her life. But now, in her current situation, all of this talk about choices seemed more meaningful than ever before.

"I just followed my heart," Buffy admitted. "There's no other way to describe it. I guess I just knew."

"But after, you were afraid that you'd made the wrong choice," Serena said for clarification.

"Not for a long time. For years, we were so happy here. You were born, everything was wonderful. It wasn't until we lost Liam that I really looked back on that decision. And then, when you were called, that made me think about it even more."

"Because coming back to Sunnydale also meant coming back to being the slayer," Serena said, understanding.

Buffy nodded. "But I realized that where we lived wasn't going to matter in the grand scheme of things. Sure, some things would be different." She felt a painful pang as she thought back to the beautiful little boy running through the apartment in the alternate reality Anne had shown her.

Serena was deep in thought. "So you don't regret the choice you made now."

"Not at all," Buffy said with quiet confidence. "This is the way things were meant to be, baby. It was a long road to get to where we are today."

_Maybe I just need to follow my heart, so I can be like mom and not have any regrets when I look back on this x number of years from now_, she thought. She had opened her mouth to say something when she heard the front door close. A moment later, Angel walked into the kitchen, setting a bag down on the counter. "Good morning Serena," her father said, leaning over to kiss her on the head.

"Good morning Dad," Serena said with a smile.

Angel looked back and forth from his wife to his daughter. "Why do I feel like I'm interrupting something?"

"Serena and I were just talking about choices, and destiny, and all that good stuff," Buffy said, opening the new box of pancake mix and heading over to the stove.

"Ah, I see. Why don't you let me do that," Angel said, gently taking the box from her hands. She smiled as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. They grinned happily at each other before she stepped back, leaving Angel to man the stove.

Buffy seemed to be considering something. She glanced over her shoulder at her husband. "We were talking a little bit about my time in New York. That got me thinking that I have some news to share."

Serena perked up, snapping out of her thoughts. "Ooh, news? What kind?"

"Good, I hope," Buffy said. All of a sudden she looked slightly apprehensive and excited at the same time, almost in a young, childish way that made her face light up. "Your father already knows a little bit of this, but I've been waiting for the right time to tell you."

Angel turned his head around, an eyebrow raised as he realized what she was talking about. "So you're done with the whole 'top-secret' thing?"

Buffy took a deep, nervous breath. "Yes, I think it's time that I tell everyone."

They _definitely_ had their daughter's attention now. "Oh, come on! What is it?" Serena asked, nearly falling off her chair in anticipation.

Buffy paused a moment to add suspense. "I've written another book," she finally blurted out.

Serena's jaw dropped at the revelation. "You _what?_ Oh, mom, that's great!" She jumped off her chair and scurried around the counter to give her mother a big hug.

"I can barely believe it myself," Buffy said, happily hugging her back.

"Wait a second, 'I've _written_ another book'...that's past tense," Angel said suspiciously, as he leaned against the counter next to the stove were several big pancakes were cooking. "You finished?"

"I finished the first draft last night," Buffy said.

"Oh my God, how long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell me?" Serena said, still in shock. Her mother had barely written since she had been born! After the huge success of _Forbidden Love_, the only other writing she had done was a book of short stories several years ago, before she gotten pregnant with Liam. She knew that her mom's old publicist had never given up on the hope that she would come out of her virtual retirement and write another masterpiece, but she had honestly thought that her mother had given up writing.

"I started on your birthday," Buffy explained. "I don't know...I was watching you, and all of our friends and family so happy...and I guess I got inspired. I didn't tell you because I have felt _so_ self-conscious about writing again...it's been such a long time, I'm worried that it isn't any good."

"She didn't even tell me for a couple weeks," Angel chimed in. "And she still refuses to let me read any of it."

"I've been doing most of the writing at night," Buffy explained. "I don't know, you just have so many things to worry about, with your slaying, and school and everything, I didn't want to bother you with it."

"Mom, I think it's amazing that you're writing again," Serena said enthusiastically. "I'm so proud of you." She paused. "So, what's it about? The book, I mean."

"It's actually a sequel to _Forbidden Love_, in a way," Buffy said nervously. "It's...well, baby, it's about you."

Serena blinked. "Excuse me?"

"It's about you. I'm sure you've figured out by now that _Forbidden Love_ is about your father and I, just with some names changed and a few other minor details that are different. This book, it's called _Fate of the Child_ and it's about you becoming the slayer."

Serena was so in disbelief over these revelations that for a few moments, all thoughts of Kenny and Billy were completely vanquished from her mind. "You wrote a book about me?" she squeaked.

Buffy laughed. "Yes. After all, you were my inspiration to start writing again."

"What's my name? The character based on me, I mean," she asked excitedly. She knew of course that the name of her mother's alter ego in _Forbidden Love_ was Serena, so she wondered what her "name" would be.

"Eve," Buffy said tentatively. "It's just another name I've always liked, and I thought it-"

"It's beautiful," Serena said with a smile. She looked back and forth between her parents. "So, who else knows? That you wrote another book?"

"No one," Buffy said with a sigh. "I've been too nervous to tell anyone. But, I think I might try and muster up the courage to call Shirley today."

"She is going to freak when she finds out you're writing again," Angel said with a chuckle.

"In a good way, I hope," Buffy said. "I mean, this is far from a done deal, I don't even know if it's _good_, and it still needs to be edited, revised, the publisher's need to agree to print and market it, I mean, all the fans of _Forbidden Love_ are probably grandparents by now, even if it does get printed who knows if anyone will buy it..."

"Honey, relax. Everyone will love it. You have a real gift for writing," Angel reassured her as he dished pancakes onto plates.

"Well, maybe I used to, but who knows if I do anymore," Buffy said, thanking her husband as she accepted a pancake-filled plate, sitting down at the counter to eat it.

Serena took her own plate and began pouring maple syrup over the fresh pancakes. "Mom, you worry too much. Besides, what do you have to lose?"

Buffy chewed her food as she considered that. "I suppose that's true."

Angel joined them, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders and giving her a gentle squeeze. "And we're both here for you, 100."

She smiled at him as the three of them continued to eat their breakfast. They were fairly silent as they consumed the fairly delicious pancakes. Just as Serena was getting up to set her plate in the sink, the doorbell rang. Her hand flew to her mouth, as she suddenly remembered her conversation with Liz from this morning. "Oh, that's Liz. She wanted to come over today, I completely forgot to tell you in all of the excitement."

"It's okay," Buffy said. Liz had become such a fixture in their home that it was no longer an event when she came over. "Go let her in. We can make some more pancakes if she wants them."

Serena hurried out to the door, swinging it open to reveal her friend, standing on the porch as her mother backed out of the driveway. "Hey," Serena said, waving to Mrs. Chester in the car before closing the door behind her friend.

"Hey yourself," Liz said. "What's up? Took you long enough to answer the door."

"I'm sorry, I got a little distracted and I almost forgot you were coming," Serena confessed. The two of them entered the kitchen, where Buffy and Angel were cleaning up from breakfast.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary," Liz said.

"Liz, what do I always tell you? Please call us by our first names," Buffy insisted.

Liz laughed. "Okay, Buffy."

She smiled. "That's better."

Serena looked at Liz expectantly. "So, you wanna go upstairs?"

"Sure," Liz said. She waved once more at Buffy and Angel before following her best friend up the stairs. Once they were safely in Serena's room with the door closed, she got down to business. "Okay. Spill. How did you screw up your life?"

"You won't believe what I did yesterday," Serena said, blushing a little just thinking about it. She sat down on her bed and hugged her favorite pillow while Liz sat down in Serena's computer chair. She took a deep breath. "Okay. I guess it all started on Saturday. Billy came over while I was training with Kenny."

"Oh boy," Liz said. "I can already tell where this is going."

Serena continued. "Well, I went inside to meet Billy, and Kenny kind of followed, you know. So I introduced them to each other. And there was all of this...tension. And then all of a sudden Kenny made up some lame excuse about having a 'previous engagement' and practically bolted out of here."

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you just imagined it."

"No, my mom noticed something was up too. It was beyond obvious," she said with a sigh. "But Liz, that made me question everything all over again. I swear I didn't make it up. When I introduced Billy as my boyfriend, Kenny seemed..."

"Jealous?" Liz finished.

"Yeah, he did," Serena said defensively. "So I went outside to get some air and I ended up talking to Willow and Tara. I didn't tell them exactly what was going on, I pretended it was hypothetical, but they told me I should try and find out if Kenny really does like me before I do something I'd regret."

"Oh God, Rena, what did you do?" Liz asked with dread.

Serena buried her face in the pillow. "I dared him to kiss me."

"You did WHAT?" Liz yelped.

"I know, I know! It was so stupid. I still can't believe I did it. But we were training, and then I kind of fell, and he caught me, and we were all...close, and then I brought up Billy, and Kenny insisted that his feelings for me were completely platonic," Serena said in a rush. She felt an almost physical pain at recalling Kenny speaking those words that she had dreaded to hear out loud for a while now.

"So you dared him to kiss you?" Liz said, staring at her as if she were not her best friend, but a Martian.

"Yes, I did. And I know you probably won't believe me, but I really think he was going to. And then you called!" Serena said in frustrated, chucking the pillow at her friend.

Liz caught it smoothly, staring at her friend as if seeing her for the first time. "Rena...oh my God. Oh my _God_. This thing with you and Kenny...this is way more than just a little crush, isn't it?"

"That ship sailed a long time ago," Serena said miserably.

Liz slowly walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. "Rena, are you in love with him?"

She looked down at her hands. "I can't be sure. But...I think so."

Liz let out a long, slow breath. "Wow." She shook her head. "Rena, you have a great thing going with Billy. That boy is crazy about you. Leave it to you to complicate things."

"I know. And that's what I feel the worst about. I like Billy, Liz, I really, really do. He's nice, and respectful, and cute, and we have so much in common. But then there's Kenny. And we are probably more different than any two people could be. But when I look at him, I just feel something that isn't there with Billy. I've tried to feel that way about him, I've tried _so_ hard. But it's just not happening," Serena said, feeling the tears start to rise.

"So why don't you break up with him?" Liz asked softly.

Serena turned to stare at her friend. "Because I'm afraid of being all alone."

"You're afraid you'll dump Billy, and then you'll find out that Kenny wasn't kidding about only having platonic feelings for you," Liz concluded.

"Exactly."

Liz stared at her in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Serena shrugged stupidly. "I don't know. I thought you wouldn't understand. You're always saying how lucky I am to have Billy, and how things would never work with Kenny and me."

"I'm just trying to be the voice of reason. But obviously, reason is _not_ your friend," Liz said, a smile playing at her lips.

"Tell me about it," Serena replied. "I just don't know what to do."

Liz shook her head. "I don't know either." She paused. "This is going to sound really cliched, but I think this is one of those times when you're supposed to follow your heart."

Serena laughed a little at the irony. "That's not the first time I've heard that today." Liz looked at her questioningly. "My mom. We were talking about choices. You know, she wrote another book. It's kind of ironic how my mom finally has her life right back on track, just when mine is spinning out of control."

Liz put an arm around her friend. "Maybe you shouldn't force it. Just try not to think about it for a while. Maybe the answer will come to you."

"Okay, Dr. Phil," Serena said wryly. They shared a laugh. _You just have to follow your heart,_ Serena repeated to herself.

_I just hope it knows where it's going._

> > > > >

TBC!


	8. September 6th, 2010

A/N: My sincerest apologies for the long wait. But I do love this story, and I will try to update more often from now on. I think you'll enjoy this one, it goes back to when Serena was younger and looks at a big day in her life. With the next chapter we will revisit grown-up Serena's romantic woes. ;) Enjoy, and please review! Feedback helps me write faster!

> > > > >

September 6th, 2010

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"She's not ready!"

"Yes, she is."

"No, she's not! You can't tell me that you're just okay with this!"

"Of course I'm not. But we have to do it."

Buffy stared up at her husband, her expression distraught, eyes teary. "How can you be so _calm_ all the time?" she demanded angrily.

The smirk that she had come to love and hate played at the corners of his lips. "It's only for a few hours."

"Yes, a few hours _every day_. What am I going to do?" she asked mournfully.

He reached out to touch her cheek, staring right into her eyes. "Just take a deep breath. Do you want her to see you upset?"

Buffy sighed dramatically. "No, of course not."

He smiled gently before glancing at his watch. "We need to get going." He turned to face the hallway, calling out. "Serena, honey, are you ready?"

"Yes Daddy," his five-year-old daughter responded in her adorable little voice. She emerged from the bathroom and walked down the hallway, her shiny new Mary-Janes clacking against the tile floor. Her long brown hair was brushed neatly, and she wore a brand new white blouse with a little blue plaid jumper. She came to a stop in front of her parents, staring up at them with her wide brown eyes, her fingers tightly grasping the straps of her new Disney princess backpack.

Buffy instinctively knelt down, smoothing her daughter's hair for the thousandth time that morning. "You look so beautiful, baby." She tried to blink away the tears that were still forming in her eyes, but her highly observant daughter noticed.

"Mommy, why are your eyes crying? You're silly," she said with a giggle. "Come _on_, let's go!" She turned and half-ran to the door, pushing it open and waiting expectantly for her parents to join her. Angel shot his wife a quick glance, his eyes sparkling as he struggled to hide the smirk that was forming. She just dabbed at her eyes before grabbing her purse and following her daughter out the door.

Angel started the car and got in the driver's seat while Buffy climbed in the back to help Serena buckle up before taking her own seat in the front. He pulled away from their impressive home, flipping on the radio to one of the local stations. A quick glance sideways told him that his wife was absently twirling her wedding and engagement rings around her finger, a nervous habit she had developed at some point in the last several years. "Now, you remember everything mommy told you, right?" she said nervously, peering at her daughter in the mirror on her visor.

"Yes, mommy," Serena sang happily, busy swinging her little legs back and forth as she hugged her new backpack.

"Listen to your teachers, okay? And if you need _anything_, anything at all, mommy wrote her phone number on the piece of paper in your pencil case. You just call me and I will be there as fast as I can," Buffy reassured her.

"Yes, mommy," she repeated.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the radio, which was playing something classical that Angel knew Buffy hated, but for once she was too preoccupied to change the station. Before they knew it, they were pulling up in front of the smart brick building where a crowd of young children and their parents were already milling around. Angel pulled into the parking lot and turned off the car as Buffy helped her daughter from the backseat, her hands trembling slightly as she aided her in putting her backpack on her back. She firmly took her daughter's hand and they headed up the walkway, towards where a group of women with nametags and clipboards stood. The petite blonde mother and her beautiful brunette daughter came to a stop in front of one of the women, Angel coming up behind them. "Hi. My daughter is here for her first day of kindergarten," Buffy said, her voice somewhat steady.

The woman beamed kindly down at Serena. "Hello, sweetie! What's your name?"

"Serena Lynn O'Leary," she recited, playing with the hem of her dress.

"Isn't that a pretty name! Yes, here you are. Guess what, you're going to be in my class! My name is Ms. Mitchell."

"Say hi to your teacher, Serena," Buffy prodded.

"Hello," Serena said with a bright smile.

"Why, hello! And you must be Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary," the teacher said smoothly, reaching out to shake both of their hands.

"You have all of our contact information, right? Just in case," Buffy said nervously.

The middle-aged woman glanced down at her clipboard. "Yes, you provided all of that at registration."

"My wife is just a little worried," Angel explained apologetically. Buffy shot him a look over her shoulder.

"Ah, yes, it's completely understandable. I remember when my first child went off to kindergarten, I was a basket case! But I'm sure your daughter will be just fine. It's always harder on the parents then the children," she said with understanding. Buffy managed a small smile, still clutching her daughter's hand.

A loud bell rang and all at once people began to move towards the open doors. "Well, that's our cue to leave. Serena, say goodbye to mommy and daddy, they'll be here to pick you up at eleven thirty," Ms. Mitchell said.

Buffy was already kneeling on the sidewalk, hugging her daughter fiercely. "You be a good girl, okay?"

Angel bent down to kiss his daughter on the head. "Have fun, Serena."

Serena noticed several other kids just her age headed inside, and she suddenly looked as if there was nowhere on earth she would rather be. "Okay! Byebye!" And with that she turned and skipped away, following her teacher inside the building without so much as a backwards glance.

"It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital!" Buffy moaned, the tears returning as she leaned her head against her husband's shoulder.

Angel stroked her hair, feeling a painful pang deep inside his chest as he watched his daughter's retreating form. "I know it does. But she's going to be fine. She'll probably have a ball."

"What if the other kids aren't nice to her?" Buffy said with alarm, this thought having just occurred to her.

"Buffy, it's kindergarten. Everyone's nice to each other. You don't have to worry about that until middle school."

"That's not true! Some kids these days, they're already bullies! And Serena's so sweet to everyone, she wouldn't know what to do! I can't leave her here," Buffy said desperately, staring longingly at the now-closed double doors.

"Hey, hey." He leaned in and gave her a kiss, holding her close. "We raised her well. She's going to do great. She'll probably have a million stories to tell when she gets home."

"I hope so," Buffy said, leaning against him as if he was the only thing holding her up.

"Did you see her? She's the most beautiful girl in this whole school, our daughter," Angel said with a father's pride.

"Well, of course she is. Look at her parents," Buffy said weakly, wiping her eyes.

He smiled down at her. "Are you ready to go home?"

Buffy gave the school one last, wistful look before nodding slowly. She allowed him to lead her back towards the car, his arm around her waist, guiding her. They both climbed into the car and Angel pulled away, driving out to the street. Buffy was taking deep breaths and seemed to be calming down slightly. "This feels so _weird._ I feel like I'm abandoning her."

He reached over to touch her leg as they waited at a stop light. "You're not. You saw her, she was excited. You know she's wanted to go to school for months now." A thought occurred to him, and he looked at his wife with a smile. "And you know, this does give us some nice alone time now."

She considered that for a moment, a matching smile playing at her lips. "You certainly know how to distract a girl." They rode in comfortable silence for a couple minutes before she spoke once again, her voice soft and distant. "I just can't believe it. Our baby's in _school_."

Angel shook his head. "Time flies." He reached over and grabbed her hand, steering the car with the other. She sighed and squeezed it, staring out the window as they rode home minus their daughter.

> > > > >

"Excuse me," Buffy said loudly as she made her way through a crowd of parents who were waiting in the schoolyard later that morning. Several of them gave her annoyed looks, but she was oblivious. She finally came to a stop when she had attained a spot in the front of the crowd. Angel came up behind her after a moment, giving her a look. "What? I want her to be able to see us when she comes out."

"Well, I'm sure all the parents you just walked right over want the same thing," he muttered under his breath.

She jabbed him in the side. "Hey. We just had a _very_ nice morning, if I do say so myself. Don't ruin it."

He smiled slyly at her. "So, does that mean you've come to the conclusion that Serena getting out of the house for a few hours has it's perks?"

Before she could respond the doors opened and a rush of children came out, escorted by their teachers. Buffy stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck and hoping for a glimpse of her daughter, but she couldn't see her yet. Just as she was starting to panic, Angel nudged her in the side and pointed, a big smile on his face. There she was, breaking into a run as soon as she saw them, her backpack bobbing up and down and her hair flying behind her. And the best part was the grin on her face a mile wide.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she yelled excitedly, rushing to them. Angel scooped her up in his arms and Buffy gave her a kiss. "I had so much _fun_! First I met a nice girl named Ashley, and then we played with blocks, and we build a castle and a farm and a house-"

"I see she can't wait to tell you all about her day!" Ms. Mitchell said, coming to stand beside Buffy, who was smoothing her daughter's hair lovingly. "Serena did wonderfully today. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Serena said loudly as her parents waved. Angel set her down on the sidewalk and Buffy took her hand as the three of them started towards the car. "So then we had a sing-a-long, and then we got to play outside, and then we had to go back in and we learned about colors! And I have _homework_!" She was almost trembling with excitement as she said this. After hearing all of the older kids in the neighborhood talk about homework for years, now she, Serena O'Leary, finally had some!

"Homework? On the first day?" Angel said, feigning shock.

"Yes! We have to bring in something that starts with the letter _A_! Will you help me?" she asked.

"Of course we will. We'll find something as soon as we get home," Buffy said, helping her into the backseat. Once they were all buckled in and Angel started backing out of the spot, Serena eagerly started talking again.

"And Ms. Mitchell said that tomorrow we're going to start learning to write our _names_! And I hope we get to play with the blocks some more, we want to make a park and a mall and a hotel..."

As their daughter babbled on excitedly about her first day of kindergarten, Angel glanced over at his wife with a sort of 'I told you so' look. She just smiled as the three of them headed towards home, Serena still talking a mile a minute.

> > > > >

TBC!

PLEASE review!


	9. November 5th to 8th, 2020

A/N: Another update! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. And I have to say, I've been disappointed by the lack of reviews lately...I know people are reading, I see the number of views. Please, just take a minute of your time and let me know what you think. It means so much to me. Thank you!

Friday, November 5th, 2020

"I don't know. I don't like it," Buffy said frankly, crossing her arms, a worried expression clouding her otherwise lovely features.

"Are you sure she's ready for this?" Angel asked, rubbing his wife's back absentmindedly, a matching worried look on his face.

"I would never suggest it if I wasn't quite certain that she's ready," Kenny said with surprising confidence. "And over the past week she has performed exceptionally well on her patrols. You've both witnessed it."

Serena stood a little taller at receiving such praise from her Watcher. He gave her a little sideways glance, a sort of half-smile, and as usual the butterflies in her stomach came out of hibernation.

It had been almost two weeks since she had confessed her inner predicament to Liz, and she was trying out her friend's advice and trying not to over-think the situation in hopes that some sort of solution would come to her. So far, no lightbulb had gone off, there had been no 'eureka' moment, but she was a little more at peace. She knew that what she was doing could technically be labeled as ignoring the problem in hopes that it would go away, but for the time being that was a whole lot better than dwelling on it. All that had gotten her was a shortage of sleep and a headache.

But the situation at hand now had the potential to keep her very distracted from her troubles. After accompanying her parents and Kenny on several patrols, he had declared her ready to go solo. The idea did terrify her a little bit, but deep down she _knew_ she was ready. And yeah, okay, a part of her also wanted to impress Kenny. What was wrong with that? But her parents didn't seem too keen on the idea.

"Mom, Dad, I really think I'm ready. And I know that if I run into trouble you're only a phone call away," she pointed out.

Her parents looked at each other. "Well, I suppose that I'm never really going to be ready to send my baby out there alone," Buffy said quietly, reaching out to smooth her daughter's hair, something she had done as long as Serena could remember.

"Does that mean I can?" she asked excitedly.

Angel let out a long sigh. "I guess, if it's okay with your mom. And if you promise that you'll be extra careful. If you see something that you know you can't handle, or even if you're not sure...run. And you," he turned to face Kenny. "If anything happens to her, this is on your head."

"Dad!" Serena exclaimed.

"No, it's okay. I understand," her Watcher replied nobly.

Her mother moved to her side, putting an arm around her. "I'm so proud of you. And absolutely terrified at the same time."

Serena hugged her mother. "Mom, I'll be fine."

After a long moment Kenny cleared his throat. "Well, make sure you bring the proper equipment with you. Sundown is in an hour, so it's probably best you start preparing." He paused a moment. "If you just remember everything you've learned, I'm confident you will be nothing but successful."

A smile played at her lips as she started to head for the stairs. "I'll go get ready." She ran up the stairs, her footsteps resonating through the kitchen as the three adults looked at each other.

"I should go help her. After all, I do have a little experience with patrolling," Buffy said wryly, heading after her daughter. She paused on the way to squeeze her husband's hand before continuing upstairs.

Once the two men were alone, Angel crossed his arms, giving Kenny a death glare. "I meant what I said."

"I don't doubt it," he said meekly.

"Always bring more than one stake. You need to be prepared for anything," Buffy said importantly, assembling a small arsenal on her daughter's bed.

Serena tried not to laugh at the mountain of weapons. "Mom...I really don't think I'll need all that."

Her mother sighed. "I know, I know. I'm just nervous."

An idea suddenly struck Serena, and she crossed the room to her dresser, lifting a black velvet box out of the top drawer. "Will you help me?" she asked, removing the silver cross from the box and holding it out to her mother.

Buffy's expression instantly relaxed into something else when she saw it. "Of course." Serena held her hair while her mother fastened the necklace around her neck. "I used to wear this when I went patrolling." She finished with the clasp and straightened it so it was hanging properly. When Serena turned around to look at her mother, she was shocked to see that tears had welled up in her eyes.

"Mom, what is it?" she asked with concern.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, frantically wiping at her eyes. "I just...I just hoped this day would never come." Her expression was sad. "I never wanted this for you."

"Oh, Mom," she mumbled, pulling her into another hug. "It's not your fault."

"I hoped that you would never have to go through any of this," she said softly.

"I know. But...I'm not alone, not like you were at first. I mean, I have you and Dad, and I have Kenny, and I have Grandpa Giles and Grandma and Willow and Tara..."

"I know. And I'm so glad you do," her mother said honestly.

"I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you when you were called. I mean, you didn't have anyone," Serena said sadly.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "But I managed. And I'm telling you, if someone had told me back then that I would be happily married with a beautiful daughter, wonderful friends, and a great career, I never would have believed it."

"I know," Serena replied with genuine understanding. "I'm lucky. I know at first I didn't think so, but I see that now."

"I'm so glad," Buffy said. She thought back to how much Serena had broken her heart with her anguish at learning of her calling. The fact that she had come around to it so much was a big relief.

She preferred not to think about just how much a young British blonde factored into that change of heart.

"Okay then," Serena said quietly to herself. "I guess this is what patrolling is like."

She was standing in the middle of one of Sunnydale's smaller cemeteries, nothing surrounding her but darkness and silence. After taking three laps around and finding no suspicious vampire activity, she has taken to perching on top of a gravestone and examining her nails, her bag of weapons within reaching distance on the ground.

She had mixed feelings about the utter uneventfulness of her first solo patrol. Part of her was relieved. Naturally she was a little frightened about making a kill by herself with no one to back her up if she made a mistake. But she was also disappointed. After all of the fuss that had gone on, she wanted so badly to be able to report to her parents and Kenny...okay, especially Kenny, some heroic tale of her bravely slaying three vampires single-handedly. Or something equally impressive. But it was beginning to appear that tonight's patrol was a complete bust.

"Vampires..." she called out softly. "Here vampires..."

Nothing.

She glanced at her watch. Ten fifteen. She had been gone for an hour and a half. She'd promised her parents she would come home after two hours. But she saw no harm in heading back a little early, since being out here wasn't accomplishing anything except realizing that she was in dire need of a good manicure. So with a heavy sigh she hopped off the gravestone and picked up her bag, turning around to head back towards home. But when she turned around there was a vampire standing about 3 feet away.

It was to her credit that she didn't scream. Her heart pounding, she set the bag down and reached nonchalantly around the back of her pants, where a stake was hidden. "Oh, there you are. Heard me calling, did you?" she said, trying her hardest to make the casual quips that she had heard her mother was so good at. But she was pretty sure her quivering voice gave away her false sense of bravado.

The vampire simply growled and started to close the small gap between them, but she was ready. She expertly ducked his first blow, pulling herself into a somersault a Romanian gymnast would be envious of and popping up behind the vampire. She attempted to jab the stake at his heart, but he turned just in time. She hit him with a blow to the head and he momentarily stumbled back. It was then that she noticed the second vampire approaching.

_You can do this_, she told herself firmly. And truth be told, she had no choice. It was either kill these two vampires or have them kill her. And she was going to do everything in her power to avoid the latter.

Experiencing for the first time the adrenaline rush of being the slayer, she tried to deal with the first vamp before the second one reached her. They exchanged blows before she delivered a roundhouse kick which he just barely dodged. The other vampire was only seconds away, and she knew she was looking at double duty.

_"Always keep your opponent on your terms. Never play his game." _Kenny's words from one of her first training sessions popped into her head as she made a quick decision. "Okay boys, come and get me," she said, thinking briefly that she was glad her mother wasn't there to here her pathetic attempt at humor. Her carefully-assembled arsenal forgotten, she turned and ran as fast as she could, satisfied when she heard the footsteps of the two vampires close behind. She rounded a tree and dove behind a gravestone. Unaware, the first vampire flew past, but she sprung out and tackled him, jabbing the stake into his heart before he could blink. The second nearly tripped over her as he rounded the corner, and she quickly delivered a few unsuccessful blows before hopping on top of the gravestone and connecting her foot to his head. Caught off balance, she sprung from her position and staked him in the back. As the second pile of dust deposited on her new sneakers, she began to grin. "Go me," she said out loud. Her heart seemed to be going a million miles an hour, but she felt amazing. She'd never even imagined feeling this powerful.

With an extra bounce in her step she headed back to where she had abandoned her bag, ready to head home and excitedly tell of her success. She picked up the bag and swung it over her shoulder as she started to head for home. She had barely gone two steps when she heard a noise in the bushes. Her hand instinctively reached for the stake again. "Who's there?" she called, feeling a little invincible. On a sudden impulse she darted forward, parting the bushes with her free hand. What she found made her stagger backwards.

"Kenny?" she said incredulously.

Her Watcher stumbled out of the bushes, his expression sheepish and his clothes covered with dirt and leaves. "Ah, yes."

For several seconds she could find absolutely no words. "Were you...were you spying on me?" she finally spit out.

He looked embarrassed. "Spying, no...watching, yes. That was very, very impressive by the way, I especially liked the hiding and springing out bit..."

She was so shocked to see him there that she stumbled over her words even more than she usually did around him. "Are you here to check up on me? Because of what my dad said?" She suddenly felt a lot less confident than she had a few moments earlier.

"N-no. This has nothing to do with your dad," he said quickly.

"So then you just didn't trust me?" she said, feeling a little hurt. Why would he insist that she was ready only to follow her out here and watch her every move?

"No, no, you were ready. You just proved what I already knew." He fidgeted awkwardly. "I was just...concerned. That's all. I just wanted to make sure...you were doing alright."

Her stomach did a flip-flop as she took that in. "Wait a second..." She pushed her hair behind her ear. "You mean that you came out here...because you were worried about me?"

"Yes. Not worried because I didn't think you could handle yourself...just worried because I would hate it if anything happened to you." His expression was strange, almost inscrutable but with a hint of something Serena recognized from only one other time: the time in the basement when he had stopped her from falling and held her in his arms for a few glorious seconds.

_Oh my God. He was worried about me. He CARES about me. Is it just because he's my Watcher?_

"Look, I know that it's a Watcher's job to protect their slayer," she said carefully, testing the waters. "But it's also your job to let me go and be independent..."

"I'm not here as a Watcher, Serena," he said, almost impatiently. "I'm just here because I...I care. And I was pleased to see with such skill you handled yourself..."

But she wasn't hearing anymore. Her brain had stopped actively processing his words after 'care'.

By the time she came back into focus, he had stopped talking and was staring at her. She blinked, realizing she had to say something. "Well...I appreciate your concern, but as you can see, I had everything under control," she stammered.

"Yes, I did see. I apologize for...lurking," he said, fidgeting slightly and tugging at the collar of his shirt. "I promise it won't happen again."

She felt a smile begin to slowly spread across her face as she watched him squirm uncomfortably. "Okay then." His eyes met hers and to her surprise, he smiled back. A different kind of smile than the ones she had seen before, when she had mastered a new kick or delivered a particularly accurate blow in training. This smile wasn't from Kenny the Watcher...it was from Kenny the man. For a second they just stayed like that, smiling at each other in the silent graveyard.

Finally, he broke the moment. "Well, I should let you get home. You'll want to tell your parents how successful your first solo venture was."

She nodded, a little dazed. "Yeah, definitely."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Serena," he said cordially. He stayed where he was and for a second she thought he was going to say something else, but he seemed to think better of it and he nodded awkwardly in her direction before heading towards the main road.

She stood there and watched him until he was no longer in her sight, and then for a few minutes after. Of all the scenarios that she had run through of how her first patrol might go, this certainly hadn't been a part of any. She couldn't have been more surprised if Dracula himself had jumped out at her.

The moment they had shared where they had just smiled at each other had reminded her instantly of that day in the basement, when he had stopped her from falling and held her in his arms. Just a small moment where both of them were caught off guard and something happened that she couldn't quite describe. But she knew there was a definite connection on a deeper level. The first time she had wondered if she had imagined the entire thing, especially after Kenny's careful insisting that his only feelings for her were platonic. But this time she knew she wasn't crazy. And besides, he had been hiding in the bushes just to make sure she was okay, without being ordered by anyone to do so. He must have been genuinely worried about something happening to her.

She couldn't think of anything more romantic.

After a minute she snapped out of it and realized that she was standing in the middle of a cemetery at night, alone, and totally daydreaming. Not exactly the best combination. So she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and started for home, feeling as if she was walking on a cloud the whole way.

Monday, November 8th, 2020

"So I was talking to Jane's brother, Nate, the one who works at the radio station, and he said that he could definitely get us tickets. That is, if you want to go," Billy said excitedly. He was sitting across the lunch table from Serena in the noisy cafeteria. Liz was sitting next to Serena, close enough to be friendly but not so close that she was a third wheel as she chatted with some other girls at the end of the table. "Serena?" he repeated. "Earth to Serena."

She snapped out of it. "Oh, what? Sorry." She quickly shoved a spoonful of pasta into her mouth in an effort to appear more alert. But truth be told, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Friday night ever since it had happened.

She had seen Kenny for training twice since she had caught him watching her on patrol. By some silent agreement neither one of them had mentioned the incident, although she had noticed a...change in their interaction. It was subtle, so subtle that she was almost sure someone on the outside would never notice, but there was a new comfort to their dealings with each other. Almost as if the run-in in the cemetery had broken down one of the barriers that he had put up against her, and they now understood each other better. They were both more relaxed. She was still trying to make sense of this new development, but she had decided last night that maybe there simply was no sense to it. Maybe it was just something that couldn't be explained.

"Gosh, Serena, are you okay? You've been a total space cadet lately," Billy said, sounding more than a tad annoyed.

She widened her eyes innocently. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little tired," she lied. "What were you saying?"

He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Never mind. Apparently you don't care."

She stared at him, her mouth agape. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, stop pretending. What's gotten into you lately? Whenever we're together you seem like your mind is somewhere else," he said, his frustration evident.

She was so taken aback by Billy's sudden tone that for once she stopped thinking about Kenny. "Billy, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be, I've just kind of had a lot on my mind lately."

"What? I mean, you can tell me," he insisted, reaching across the table for her hand. "Serena, just talk to me."

She blinked. What was she supposed to say? I might be in love with a much older British man who also happens to be my Watcher? Oh, and FYI, a Watcher is the appointed mentor for a vampire slayer, which I happen to be. "Billy, I'm sorry. I'll listen," she promised meekly.

"Sure you will," he said under his breath, taking his hand back.

Serena vaguely noticed Liz turning her head slightly to look inquisitively at her, having obviously noticed the sudden tension, but she didn't meet her friend's eyes. "Billy, when did this happen? Sorry if I was a little dazed earlier..."

"It wasn't just now, Serena. This has been going on for a while now. I feel like...I don't know." He let out a long, frustrated sigh. "When I met you, one of the things I liked most was how I could tell you were really listening when I talked. And you would talk to me, too. But now...I feel like we never talk anymore, and it always seems like your mind is someplace else."

She set her spoon down, suddenly not hungry. "Well, then maybe this isn't going to work." The words were out before she made a conscious decision to say them, but to her surprise, she didn't regret it.

Billy looked like she had slapped him. "What? So, that's it then? Whatever's got you so preoccupied all the time you just don't want to tell me, so you'd rather break up instead?"

"What I'm saying is if you're so frustrated with me, maybe we need a break," she said tightly. She felt surprisingly calm as she said these life-altering words.

"So I say that I'm a little frustrated by the way you've been acting, and you don't waste a second in breaking up with me? Just how long have you been waiting for this chance?" he said harshly.

"It's not like that. I just had no idea how unhappy you were with me," she replied. For a second neither of them said anything.

"Well when you put it that way, maybe you're right. Maybe we would be better off if we take some time so you can come back down to Earth and I can quit being so _unhappy_," he shot back.

She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, Billy. But apparently this is just isn't working anymore. I'm sorry if my mind isn't focused on you one hundred percent of the time." The words came out harsher than she intended, and she instantly felt bad.

"I've heard enough of this," he muttered, moving to stand up.

"No. You stay. I'm leaving," she declared, rising from her seat and picking up her tray with the barely-touched lunch on it. She looked at him for a second before turning and walking towards the cafeteria doors, tossing the tray in a garbage can halfway. As she turned her back on her boyfriend, she didn't feel any of the things she had imagined she would the first time she broke up with someone. Instead, she felt strangely self-assured and at peace, almost as if this were the way things were _meant_ to be.

She felt the hand on her shoulder when she was only a few feet away from the exit. "Rena, what the hell are you doing?" Liz asked incredulously, her eyes wide with shock.

She thought for a second. "I'm following my heart," she said at last. Before her friend could respond she turned and continued through the cafeteria doors and into the hallway, moving confidently.

TBC!


	10. February 2nd, 2021

A/N: Here you go! This is a brief, almost "filler" chapter, but I promise the next one will be much more eventful. And also...please review. I know people are still reading this, and it would mean the world to me if you took a few moments to leave me a comment. Thanks, enjoy!

February 2nd, 2021

"Okay. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"_Yes_. Can't we just get this over with?"

"Okay. We're going to start out nice and slow. Easy does it."

Serena carefully backed the car out of the driveway as Angel tried not to hyperventilate in the passenger's seat.

He had stopped so many apocalypses that he had nearly lost track. He'd survived Buffy cursing at him all throughout her twelve hour labor. He'd made it through his teen daughter's first romantic relationship, and later sent her out on her own to battle the forces of darkness.

So why did teaching her to drive feel like the most terrifying task of his life?

"Okay, that's it. Now you just switch to drive and-" he stopped as Serena switched gears and started cruising down the street like a pro. He forced himself to take a deep breath. "There you go."

"Dad, re_lax_. It's just driving. It's a piece of cake." She cruised to a stop at the stop sign, making a show of glancing both ways before continuing on.

Angel tried to loosen the death grip he had on the door handle. "I know. You're doing just fine." He tried to remember how Buffy had managed to get out of doing this, and then it occurred to him that his wife's driving, although much improved, still made him sweat to the point where he had driven on almost every family outing in the past fifteen years. _Right._

"Which way should I turn?" Serena asked calmly as they waited at a red light.

"Um, left," Angel said, steering her onto a road that he knew rarely saw much traffic. The light turned green and she made a near-perfect left turn before accelerating and continuing down the road.

"How am I doing?" she asked excitedly. With everything that had been going on since her last birthday, somehow getting her learner's permit had gone by the wayside. But finally Serena had completed her driver's ed requirement, and over Christmas break Buffy had finally taken her to the DMV.

"You're doing good," Angel said honestly. He had to admit, things were going quite smoothly so far. She hadn't hit anything, she'd stayed on her side of the road, she clearly knew which pedal was which...so far so good. They continued on for a few minutes in comfortable silence.

"Okay, why don't you pull over here, and we'll try a three point turn," Angel said after checking that it was all clear behind them. They were on a desolate rural road with no signs of life except a few birds. Serena carefully pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park, looking up expectantly.

"You're going to put the car in drive, and turn the wheel all the way to the left," he instructed, beginning to relax a little. Serena did so smoothly, coming to a stop at an angle. "Now you put it in reverse, and turn it all the way to the right. That's it." He watched proudly as she completed the maneuver and headed back in the direction they'd come from.

They drove along for a while longer before pulling back onto their street. Angel finally relaxed. He'd survived his daughter's first driving lesson. "Okay, just pull it into the driveway, and we're all set," he said cheerfully. Serena did so, accelerating slightly up the small incline of the driveway. As they approached the house, they spotted Kenny walking across the lawn to the front door.

"Hey look, it's Kenny!" Serena said excitedly. She pulled to a stop at the top of the driveway and started to wave to her Watcher.

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten to put the car in park first.

Before anyone realized what was happening, the car started sailing back towards the street, gaining speed. "Brakes!" Angel yelled, bracing himself against the car door with one arm while reaching for the steering wheel with the other. Serena's eyes widened as she stared in horror for a second before her instincts clicked in and she pressed the brake pedal down to the floor, causing the car to come to a screeching halt just inches from the street, right as a car drove past. She and Angel were both thrown forward from the sudden stop, crashing back against their seats a moment later. She jerked the car into park before clasping a hand to her mouth, staring at her father with wide eyes. Angel just stared straight ahead, trying to will his heart to stop pounding. Meanwhile, Kenny watched the entire scene from the front lawn, clearly trying not to laugh.

"I'm sorry," Serena squeaked.

Angel closed his eyes for a second. "It's okay. It was an honest mistake."

"Oh my God, Kenny probably thinks I'm _such_ a spaz," she moaned, slinking down in her seat to avoid her Watcher's gaze.

Angel glanced at her, amused. "You care a lot about what Kenny thinks, don't you?"

Refusing to look at him or respond, Serena regained her composure enough to drive back up the driveway, this time putting the car in park before taking her foot off the brake. She took the key out of the ignition and waited a moment before stepping bravely out of the car, her expression sheepish.

"Well, I suppose I should be thankful you slay vampires better than you drive," Kenny said, his upper lip twitching slightly.

Serena reached out and playfully smacked him on the shoulder. "Shut up. You just caught me at a bad moment, up until then I was _perfect_. Wasn't I, Dad?"

Angel had climbed out of the car and was watching his daughter and her Watcher interact. "You did very good for the first time."

Serena shot him an annoyed look before turning her attention back to Kenny. "Don't listen to him. I did great. I guess I just got a little too excited at the end there." Kenny's lips twitched into the little half-smile that still made Serena's stomach do somersaults every time. She grinned back.

Since her breakup with Billy, things had been...different between her and Kenny. Their relationship was still merely that of Watcher and Slayer, but they were much friendlier. She was even willing to bet that their interaction was toeing the line of flirting at times. As the weeks had passed, she had become gradually more comfortable being herself around him, and as a result he had loosened up as well.

When she had told him of her breakup with Billy, his reaction had been carefully contained. He had expressed his condolences as anyone polite would in the situation. But she was almost certain that she had seen a little flicker of something else behind his carefully guarded expression, and from that day on, Kenny had been in a considerably better mood.

As for Billy, he had tried to get back together with Serena on more than one occasion. But she always found a way out of it, and honestly, the way he kept crawling after her like a puppy dog was making him seem less and less appealing. Finally he had given up, and ever since returning from Christmas break she had barely spoken to him. That made her a little sad, because she missed his friendship, especially in the now-boring art class that had brought them together. But the sudden wave of resolve that had hit her that day in the cafeteria was still strong, and she believed that she and Billy were not meant to be.

As for her and another certain someone, that remained to be seen. But for now, she was willing to be patient.

"So, are you ready for your training session?" Kenny asked with a smile.

"As I'll ever be," Serena replied merrily, standing back while Angel put the key in the door. He held it while she and Kenny entered the house, not missing the chance to give the Watcher a look that was clearly intended to be intimidating. Kenny either didn't notice or did a great job of ignoring it, as he merely gave Angel a pleasant smile as he followed Serena into the house.

As they headed down to the basement, Angel closed the door with a frown. His little girl was growing up much too fast.

TBC!


End file.
